I Am For You
by Riverchic1998
Summary: Because of the Ministry’s new rules, Giles can’t take Willow to England. So, help must come to her…in the form of two Slytherins and one Gryffindor. What they don't know is Willow isn't the only person in desperate need of healing. Complete
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** I Am For You

**Author:** Laura

**Rating:** PG-13

**Spoilers:** 'Grave' for BtVS, and nothing really, for HP. HBP and DH don't exist in this world, and there are no spoilers for season seven of BtVS.

**Disclaimer:** JKR owns HP and Joss Whedon owns Buffy. I don't make any money off of them. No infringement intended. The title comes from Waking Ashland's song, I Am For You. It'll be explained at the very end of the fic.

**Distribution:** My livejournal, Fanfiction-dot-net, FA, and harrypotterfanfiction-dot-com.

**Summary:** Because of the Ministry's new rules, Giles can't take Willow to England. So, help must come to her…in the form of two Slytherins and one Gryffindor. What they don't know is Willow isn't the only person in desperate need of healing.

**Pairings**: Draco/Pansy, mentions of Harry/Ginny, Willow/Tara, and a whole lot of UST in the form of Draco/Buffy, which is the eventual pairing at the end of the fic.

**Author's note:** This fic has been in the works since October of 2006. Yes, I have been working on this monstrosity for three years. And it's not finished. I only figured out where this was going to go a few months ago. It is almost completed, though. I have 14 chapters done, and bits and pieces of others. One chapter will go up a week, and hopefully I'll have it done soon. Each chapter is at least 3,000 words and 8 pages long. Some are longer than others, and some barely pass my personal requirements.

Reviews are nice, but please don't give me an eye-twitch with net speak. LOL and stuff like that is fine, but leaving a review like 'ur a rly good athor, update plz!' will just irritate me and make me not want to update. I do like constructive criticism, but all out flames will be used to roast marshmallows and nothing else.

The whole purpose of this fic was to try to delve into a new way of looking at magic, magical theory, dark magic and dark magic addiction. I created a new branch of magic almost, just to see if I could. Blink and you'll miss it, but it's briefly mentioned in this first chapter.

**Special Thanks:** Dedicated wholly to Jacy Evans. She has been the backbone of this story, pointing out my mistakes and keeping me on track. Thanks for everything!

……………………..

Everyone was gathered in the Summers' living room, including a subdued Willow, discussing the plans for the next few months regarding where she would be staying. Xander and Buffy were on the couch, with Willow in between them, while Dawn and Anya sat in chairs across from them.

Willow stared at her hands blankly. The veins were a dark blue, and she could feel her pulse beat beneath her skin. Just a few days before, her blood turned black with evil, and her pounding heart had thrummed with power. Now, she felt empty. There was a hole inside her that felt bottomless. She ached, her heart missing both Tara and her magic. Without both in her life, it seemed pointless to continue.

She knew that everyone tiptoed around her because they were a bit unsure how to act since her episodes, as Giles was calling it. She nearly ended the world and he called it an 'episode'. Willow wasn't sure if she found it funny or insulting. Maybe a bit of both.

Belatedly, she heard someone call her name. Looking up, she saw Giles leaning against the fireplace mantle and staring at her intently. She probably needed to pay attention, since they were talking about her.

"The coven in Devon, which leant me their magical essences, is willing to teach Willow control. They have experience in helping individuals who have overdosed on Dark Magic." He smiled gently at Willow, and she felt the hole inside get a bit bigger.

"But—" the witch began to protest, but Giles didn't let her finish.

"Any doubts you have are not legitimate, Willow, you know this. They can help you," Giles said softly, but firmly. They already talked out all the worries she had about going to a group of exclusive magic users and the fear she had of draining them dry.

"So, that's settled then," Buffy stood and smoothed out her pants, her voice resigned. "Willow's going to England with you."

Willow wanted to let the tears fall at the thought of leaving, but maybe it was good for her. Maybe she needed to leave and get away from the pain. She probably wasn't wanted here anymore. She was a killer.

And then her friends did something that almost irritated her. As if they knew her thoughts, Xander put a hand on Willow's knee. When she looked up into his sad eyes, he grinned at her—that same goofy grin she'd loved since kindergarten. Buffy also put her hand on Willow's shoulder, and a look at Buffy's face also showed sorrow.

"Even though I don't want you to go, I want you to be happy and healthy. I know that seems far off right now but I know you'll pull through. You just have to come back to us. No staying in the land of tweed and tea forever."

Tears sprang up in Willow's eyes and she let out a small laugh. "Merry old England, here I come."

"Actually," a voice said suddenly, "you're not going anywhere."

At the new voice, most of the people in the living room jumped in surprise. Willow tensed and was not afraid to admit she shrunk behind Buffy a bit. The magic that came with this newcomer was different, but at the same time familiar and a little bit frightening.

"Who the hell are you and how did you get into my house?" Buffy asked lowly, motioning for Willow to stay behind her. Giles, however, stepped in front of his slayer. "Giles, what are you doing?" she asked sternly.

Giles sent her an exasperated look. "Hush, Buffy. He's a friend." He turned back to the man with a glare. "Draco, what the devil are you doing here? Your mother—"

"Who do you think sent me?" the man asked, grinning. His hands were in pockets of fairly worn jeans and a blue t-shirt with faded, scripted writing fit snugly across his lithe body. He had on a thin white, long sleeved shirt underneath the t-shirt. Blond, unkempt hair fell in his narrow face.

"Indeed," Giles said, grinning back at the young man. While it was a surprise to see Draco here, it was a relief that Willow was going to get help so soon. His grin quickly slipped off his face though, and a look of mild irritation came over his features. "What do you mean 'she's not'?"

"Fudge," Draco said sharply, walking from the foyer into the living room proper.

"You mean a piece of chocolate is the reason why Willow can't go to England?" Xander stood up slowly and looked between the two British men. "Somehow that doesn't really bring up an image of terror in my brain."

"It's a person," Giles said, sending a dry look at Xander. He then turned to Draco for more explanation.

Willow had her eyes trained on the man in front of her. He was obviously a friend of Giles, so that relieved her a bit, but his magic was making her on edge. She waited for his explanation.

"Fudge, along with most of the Wizarding World, felt the burst of dark magic that 'out-eviled' Voldemort, as they're saying," Draco sighed and a grimace came over his face. "Fudge feared the reactions of the people this time around, and constructed a new law, using his 'powers in crises'. The law was finalized and put into motion without a single vote."

"Oh, bloody hell," Giles exclaimed, "He did something incredibly stupid, didn't he?"

"Every witch or wizard residing in Britain must register their wands and meet three requirements to continue using magic. They must file a drop of their blood, a strand of their hair, and a reading of their magical essence at the Ministry of Magic." Draco ignored the cursing from Giles and continued on. "Any witch or wizard not residing in Britain who wishes to enter Britain—not the Wizarding World, mind you, the actual country of Britain—must register their wands and meet the three requirements. If they're pissy about it, they can be arrested and appeal to the Wizengamot."

"He's gone insane," the elder man cried out. "Surely the people are not allowing this?"

Draco grinned sardonically and shuffled his feet a bit. "Ah, see, that's where you're wrong. Last time a dark force was felt like this, the world was almost destroyed. When everyone felt the powerful wave of magic, they were all too glad to protect themselves to an outrageous extent. It's even worse for wandless witches and wizards. They have to fulfill the three requirements and also be tested magically. Anyone testing over the level ten must be submitted to the Ministry for extra testing."

"Your mother…" Giles started to plead.

"Is being watched by Dolores Umbridge. The old frog may have liked me, but the grace stopped with my mother. Apparently, she's not as cooperative as she should be." The blond grinned with sincere amusement, but he quickly became somber again. "Besides, anyone caught sneaking in unregistered witches or wizards are to be imprisoned immediately, Sirius Black style."

"Trying to get Willow to Devon…" Giles trailed off with a hint of defeat in his voice.

Willow perked up, not exactly following the entire conversation, but curious about the talk of wands and magical testing. It was just like the council had asked her and Tara when they'd co—

She had to take a deep breath and close her eyes against the pain she felt when remembering the other witch. When she opened them, she heard someone talking, but the man—Draco, was staring intently at her, as if he knew that she'd felt a pang of hurt. After a moment, he resumed speaking.

"I promise, if I could, then I would. Doing it illegally is not only horrifyingly hard, but deeply stupid." Draco sighed, going over to stand next to Giles. He spoke softly in a low tone, making the others strain to hear what he said. "Mother sent me in confidence that I could help, since I have before. She'll be sending others as soon as they can escape undetected."

His serious expression changed to one of annoyance. "Apparently, I tend to not do what I'm told, and am a corrupting influence on those around me."

Giles laughed, put his hands on the younger man's shoulders and smiled. "I am glad you could come. I was actually hoping you would be available to help, because I truly believe you are one of the best people for this situation."

Draco grinned. "Buck up, Rupert. You keep talking like that it'll sound like you actually like me."

"Can't have that, now can we?" Giles asked sarcastically.

Draco laughed and looked toward the red head on the couch. "Join me upstairs?"

Willow looked up at Giles and then looked at Draco in shock. Her mouth opened a few times but no sounds came out. What just happened? Was she no longer going to England? How was she going to get better? She wouldn't be able to control herself here. The thoughts were enough to make her hands shake in fear. "You mean now?" she asked suddenly, causing the wizard to laugh.

"What did you think you would be doing once you got to England? Sitting around with people talking about you?" Willow flushed under Draco's gaze, hating that he was right. "Your healing starts now. Besides, I think you have something of mine, and I'd kind of like it back."

Willow looked to Giles with an inquisitive gaze. "Healing? And I have something of yours? I don't—" She stopped with a horrified look on her face as she looked between Draco and Giles. She now understood why he felt familiar, even though Willow had never seen him before in her life. "I have some of your magic?"

"Only a little bit, compared to some of the other witches and wizards who offered their essences up. Too much of mine would have driven you too far into the dark."

Willow's went from curious to guarded. She shrunk back into the seats of the couch, unknowingly closing in on herself. "You're dark? And I'm supposed to believe you want to help me?" Dark wizards and warlocks were like Rack-only looking for payment for their deeds. She'd made that deadly mistake once; she wasn't going to make it again.

Buffy moved in front of Willow and glared at Giles, her hands on her hips. Willow was clearly disturbed, and that made Buffy irritated. "You brought someone evil here to help Willow not be evil? How does that plan work?"

Giles started forward, a hand outstretched towards the slayer. "Now, Buffy—"

"Hold up," Draco interrupted, his hands raised in defense. "I never said anything about being evil. I just said I was dark. There's a difference. I—"

"It's hot," Anya said quietly, staring at Draco's left arm. "Your arm is hot. I can feel the evil on it."

As everyone followed her line of sight to Draco's arm, Willow could feel the heat as well. It had to be a brand of some sort, or a charm wrapped around his arm that he kept hidden. It took all her strength to control her breathing and not run away as fast as she could. The temptation to reach out and touch the heat was almost unbearable.

Giles sighed and nodded at him. Draco rolled his eyes and pulled up the long-sleeved white shirt, revealing a skull and a snake tattooed on his skin. Instantly, Willow's mind went to a customer of Rack's, and one that had given her the wiggins. He'd been _evil_, and it made Willow's skin crawl when she saw the same mark that had adorned his arm on Draco's arm.

"What is that?" Buffy asked, squinting at the mark.

"Holy crap!" Anya said, jerking back away from Draco. "It's the Dark Mark. You're a Death Eater?" she shouted at Draco before turning to Giles. "You know a Death Eater and brought him here? Are you insane?"

Xander sat down beside Willow. "Do you get all these magic references? Because I'm totally lost."

The witch tried to not show her fear. "Rack had a customer with that mark on his arm." She turned to Xander slowly and whispered, "He terrified me." Xander's eyes widened and he wrapped an arm around Willow's shoulders and she curled into his side. Everything had gotten so out of control.

"What the hell is going on?" Buffy snapped loudly.

"Let me give you a preview," Anya snapped. "_He_ is a Death Eater," she said, pointing at Draco, who just glared at her. "Death Eaters are dark wizards dedicated to serving the Dark Lord Voldemort. Their agenda? Killing anyone who isn't a magical pureblood. They would go to towns all over Great Britain in planned raids, killing innocent people just because they weren't magical. They're all rich, bigoted snobs and most of them got out of prosecution because they paid off the courts."

"Will you bloody well shut up?" Draco shouted back at her, making Willow jump. "Yes, I was a Death Eater. I was also a spy. I'm also in the Order of the Phoenix." He yanked up his right sleeve, revealing a bird done in bright reds and oranges, with flames behind it and two crossed wands. "Are you all right now, you crazy bint? You're a bigger pain in the arse than a Gryffindor."

"Is the birdie thing good?" Dawn asked, looking at the newly revealed tattoo.

"Oh," Anya said quietly.

"Yes, oh." Giles rolled his eyes. "Did you honestly think I didn't know everything about Draco before I asked him to help Willow? Like he said, he was a spy. Without him, the war would have been lost."

Draco pulled his sleeves down, crossing his arms and grinning. "Giles, I think I might cry."

The Watcher rolled his eyes at Draco before turning towards Willow. "It's all right, Willow. He's going to help you, not hurt you."

It would have been so easy to refuse and just run away, forgetting about everything that happened, but Willow knew Tara would want her better. With more confidence than she really felt, Willow stood up, and Draco gestured toward the stairs. After sending a scared look to Buffy and Xander, she started walking up the stairs. Draco turned back to Giles.

"See you tomorrow?"

Before he could answer, Willow turned around swiftly and panicked, determining if she could bolt out the front door. "Tomorrow? I'm going somewhere?" Draco laughed.

"Just upstairs."

Willow opened her mouth, but Draco cut her off before she could start speaking.

"This is going to take time, Willow. Your mind needs to heal. All the magic you absorbed from both the books and from the coven wrapped around your essence. You absorbed it so quickly it expanded your aura, and now that you have it under control, the magic is dispersed, but it knows it doesn't belong to you, and it wants out. When it does get back to its rightful user, it will leave a hole. You feel it already, don't you?"

Willow opened and closed her mouth, breathing quickly. How had he known? Was it obvious? Her hands started to shake and she tucked them under her arms to hide it, but she knew Draco had seen.

"It's all right," he said softly. "You're going to feel it for a while, until after we can heal that hole. You need to rest, and I mean a deep, healing rest. You won't wake up until tomorrow." Draco walked toward Willow and nodded his head upwards. "Now, we can start later, but the longer you have that magic and the hole around your essence, the harder it's going to be to patch it up. We need to start as soon as possible."

Willow's breathing had calmed as she stared at the man in front of her. He really did know what he was talking about. There was something behind his eyes that hinted he was speaking from personal experience. Sadness laced through his words, and Willow knew there was a story she wanted and needed to hear. After a few moments, she nodded, and wordlessly turned to finish going up the stairs. Draco turned and sent a small smile to Giles, before following her up the stairs.

"He's really going to help her?" Dawn asked Giles when the two people finished going up the stairs and were out of sight.

"He knows what she's going through, believe it or not. It's not my story to tell," he added when he saw the incredulous looks sent at him, "But he's used to handling people like this. He's powerful enough to handle her and help her."

"How, Giles?" Buffy asked softly, her eyes still on the stairs even though Willow had long disappeared from sight.

"He's a Sealer," Anya added in a small, but amazed voice.

"A what?" Buffy asked, turning to face the demon. "Is he some sort of creature?

Anya just smiled up at Giles, who returned her smile.

"Just look at her tomorrow. Really look at her. Just see if she's not different."

………………………….

Willow walked into the master bedroom and her breath automatically quickened when she saw the room. The bedspread had been changed, and the room smelled clean. Despite having been in the room after it had been cleaned, the agony was still running deep through her.

"So this is where it happened."

Willow jumped at the voice behind her, forgetting she was followed. She turned around and sent Draco an incredulous glance. "How did you know?"

"Besides the overwhelming smell of disinfectant?" Draco grinned at her look, and then quickly sobered. "I can feel it. Your anger," he added at her look. "Your sorrow. Your shock. Your love."

Willow stared ahead blankly and felt tears rising.

"Not now. You need to calm down. You can cry later, if you have tears still, but now—now you're going to relax. Lay down on the bed." The irrational part in Willow's mind started to panic and she started backing up, which caused Draco to roll his eyes. "Oh for Merlin's sake, even if I _did_ want to go after you, you're not my type."

She paused, unsure of his meaning. Stomping down the urge to ask if his type was even human, Willow just bit her lip and looked at him curiously.

"What?" Draco asked in annoyance. "Like girls are the only ones allowed to be gay?"

She laughed a bit and started breathe easier. "Well, no."

"I'm not gay, by the way. I love having sex with the female gender way too much to be gay, much to some of my friend's annoyance, but I have a girlfriend. Well, had. We've decided we're much better off as friends who love to shag each other at every opportunity." Draco noticed the tension leave Willow's shoulders and let a bit of relief go through him. "She's still rather possessive of me. We usually approve each other's significant others. She'd castrate me if I took advantage of you as well."

"Then… the bed?" Willow asked tentatively. Draco sighed and rolled his eyes toward the ceiling.

"Did you not hear my whole 'deep, deep rest' lecture I gave just a few minutes ago, which was amazing, by the way, and completely lost on the audience downstairs," he finished with a flair.

"No, I-I heard it. I just didn't really…" she trailed off with a somewhat pathetic look on her face.

"You didn't really know what I meant by deep, deep rest?" Draco said with a small laugh. "Merlin save me from clueless witches."

"Well—"

"Just get on the bed," Draco said exasperatedly. "I'm not going to ravage you or anything. Your virtue is safe from me, Slytherin honor."

Willow had turned toward the large bed, but she suddenly turned back to face him to obviously ask him a question.

"Bed! Now!" Draco pointed to the bed, which made Willow grin softly. He didn't seem angry, just irritated.

"How do you want me?" As soon as the question left her mouth, she flushed and Draco just raised an eyebrow. "I meant on the bed!" She realized it still didn't sound right, while Draco continued to look at her with his eyebrow raised. "You know what I meant!"

"Oh, I did. I just wanted to see how deep that hole you were digging was going to get."

Willow glared at him and lay down in the middle of the bed on her back. Draco sat facing her on her left side and looked down at her calmly.

"I'm going to put a head on your head and on your chest—over your heart," he added at her glare. "I may move them around depending on how well you respond to me, alright?"

"Now who's digging the hole," Willow said softly.

"Shut up," Draco said, while rolling his eyes. He put his right hand over her forehead and his left hand over her collar bone. They hovered off her skin a few inches as he looked down at her face, which was getting more nervous as the time went on. "Are you ready?"

"Would you stop if I said no?" Willow asked, and Draco shook his head with a serious look on his face. She sighed in resignation. "Then no."

"You're going to be fine, Willow. You're just going to sleep."

Draco let his hands fall to her skin and closed his eyes. Willow's eyes also fell shut and she immediately took a deep breath, before her chest rose and feel evenly.

…………………………………….

Dawn shivered as she opened the door. The room was very cold. The lights were off, and the moonlight wasn't coming in through the windows, as the drapes were closed. Her eyes had already adjusted to the dark from the hallway, so she could see into the room fairly well. She looked to her right and saw Willow sleeping on the bed. She didn't see Draco anywhere, but she knew he was in the room, because he had never come out.

"This is where your sister found you, isn't it?"

Dawn jumped and looked down to her left. He was sitting down where she had huddled staring at Tara's body for hours before Buffy had come home. Where she had been tense, he was leaning against the wall with his arms loosely crossed and his legs spread out in front of him, ankles crossed. He was looking at the ground where Tara's body had been, and then looked up at her.

"What?" she asked with a look of fear.

"You were sitting here looking at Tara's body when your sister found you that night." When Dawn didn't answer, he looked back at the floor where Tara's body had been. "I didn't know who had been here, only that someone had sat here for hours waiting for someone—an older someone—to find them. I had a feeling it was you, but until you walked in here, I had no idea." Draco looked back up at her.

"But—" Dawn started backing away from the room.

"Was I being too intense? Pansy gets on to me for that."

"Pansy?" Dawn asked, looking down at him. Draco pulled his legs to him and sat cross legged on the floor. He motioned her to sit down in front of him, which made Dawn turn to look at Willow.

"She won't wake up. I've also put a silencing ward around the room, so you won't have to worry about anyone hearing you up. I knew the second you awoke and covered your steps so you wouldn't wake up anyone."

"Why?" Dawn asked looking down at Draco with a suspicious gaze on her face. Just because Giles trusted him to heal Willow didn't mean she was going to trust him with own self.

"You need to be healed as well. Darkness touched you, and I know it wasn't the first time, but this was personal, Dawn. This wasn't some innate evil coming after you." Draco motioned for her to sit down again. "It won't hurt, I promise. It will only last for a few moments."

Dawn sat down cautiously and mimicked Draco's position, crossing her legs. Draco held his hands palm up at her and she put her hands above his.

"Who's Pansy?" she asked in an inquisitive voice.

"A very close friend," Draco grinned. "Now close your eyes."

………………….

End

I know it doesn't seem like much, but it really does get much better. I promise.


	2. Chapter 2

Author note: Sorry this did not come out yesterday. The sick bug has hit (it's September-I always get sick in September) and I just did not feel up to even getting out of bed yesterday once I got home from work. This is also a short chapter, almost 3,000 words. I kept cutting it shorter and shorter because the chapter was too heavy. The explanations were too complex and I kept repeating myself. Thanks to Jacy for helping me beat this one into submission. Chapter 3 will be out next Wednesday.

.....................

Dawn slowly woke up and stretched, before opening her eyes to stare at the ceiling. She felt…amazing. Like she slept for years and woke up rejuvenated. Every breath she took seemed to be pure oxygen. Her limbs felt lighter and full of energy.

Suddenly, a face peered down at her. She blinked in shock but relaxed when she recognized Draco hovering over her. The previous day came to her in a flash—Willow was about to leave but Draco said she wouldn't be able to get into England. He was healing her, and then Dawn wanted to check on Willow. She sat down on the floor opposite of Draco and then… she didn't remember.

"You woke up a lot sooner than I expected," Draco said with a small grin.

"Is that bad?" Dawn asked while rising up from the bed. Draco grabbed her arm and helped her sit up, getting on the bed behind her to support her. Dawn didn't understand why until she felt she could barely sit up without help. She leaned against him and sighed. It felt _nice_. Her throat was a little scratchy, but she just coughed a bit, clearing it.

"It's very good. You healed quicker."

Dawn turned to her left and realized she had been placed on the bed with Willow, who was still asleep, but her face was different. There were no worry lines or anything pertaining to stress visible on her face. For the first time in a long time, the witch looked at peace.

"She looks…peaceful," Dawn said with finality. She felt, more than heard, the laughter coming from Draco.

"As do you. You're going to feel like this for most of the day, like you're riding in the clouds. If you've never been drunk or high, you're about to feel the wonders of them without the nasty side-effects."

Dawn grinned and leaned further back. "I'm liking this healing business."

Draco laughed again and slowly got up, leaning Dawn back against the pillow. She didn't feel tired, but content to lie against the pillows and watch Draco walk across the room to the window.

"What time is it?" Dawn asked suddenly.

"Nearing nine in the morning," Draco answered, still looking out the window. He let the drapes fall closed. He walked toward the bed with his hands clasped behind his back. Dawn suddenly had a flashback to a television show where a big time lawyer walked like this; he walked like he owned the world.

"What are you grinning at?" Draco asked, coming to sit beside her on the bed.

"How uppity you look while walking like that. I know that most people think 'rich' when they hear British accents, but you just screamed it right then."

Draco chuckled and put his hand on her head. Her eyes immediately fell closed, but it wasn't like last time. She was aware of him, and of Willow breathing next to her. She knew she was lying on the bed and she knew that it was daytime outside. When his hand left her forehead, she opened her eyes to look at him curiously.

"How did you do that?" When he raised his eyebrows at her, she rolled her eyes. "I mean, make everything bad go away? It was calm and quiet. Nothing mattered for a moment."

The blond wizard sighed and stood up, walking to the other side of the bed, where Willow was laying. "It's a dormant family trait, but a man, who I actually couldn't stand kept pushing me, and helped me hone the skill. I needed healing more than anyone he knew, or so he said. He died a few years go." Draco's eyes took on a distant look. "I can't help but wonder if he was part-Seer, for all the things he knew." He shook his head, as if to clear it, and looked down at Willow. He closed his eyes and put his hand on her head, and then moved his index finger to her right temple.

"Well?" Dawn asked, while rolling over to look at Willow more closely.

"She'll be awake soon. The damage was deeper than I thought. I've got my work cut out for me," he said with a derisive grin. Suddenly, Willow took a deep breath and turned a bit in her sleep. "Ah, there she is."

Willow opened her eyes slowly and closed them again in a languid blink. She felt fuzzy, like her mind was scattered in the wind. Time was fluid…she had no idea if it was still dark outside, or how long she'd been asleep, and she didn't care. Her throat didn't feel dry, but sore, like she had been screaming non-stop for a long time.

A glass of water appeared in front of her face, and she looked to the person holding it in front of her.

Draco grinned. "I know what it's like to come out of one of these sleeps. You feel like your throat is on fire. It's natural. Take a few sips of water to help."

Willow tried to sit up, but found she didn't have the strength. Draco's hand left the glass of water and helped her sit up, sitting behind her like he had Dawn. Willow just kept staring at the glass of water suspended in the air. Draco grabbed it again and held it to her lips.

"It's just water. I only used a levitating charm to hold in the air while I helped you up." Willow opened her mouth slightly and let the cool water soothe her throat. "You're going to have to learn that not all magic is bad. Your quitting magic so suddenly is one of the main reasons you lost so much control last time."

"But—" Willow croaked, and Draco interrupted her.

"No buts! I know you're a lesbian and happen to like arse quite a bit, but can we keep off the subject?"

Willow was surprised when someone laughed next to her that wasn't Draco. When she turned over, her heart started to pound when she saw Dawn. Had she gone backwards in her healing and sapped Dawn for power? All the different scenarios were running through her head and made her start to panic.

"Dawn?" Willow turned back toward Draco, and tried to convey her feelings. He wouldn't have let her hurt Dawn, would he? "Did I…"

Draco rolled his eyes and levitated the water again, setting Willow back against the bed. He could already see they were going to have to work on her expression guarding skills. She gave away what she was thinking on her face. "She came in during the night and I touched her essence up a bit. It was cracked."

"My essence?" Dawn asked confused. "What's my essence and why was it cracked?"

"Too much dark magic will do that to someone who isn't used to it. Your sister, Giles, and all the others have dealt with it enough, but yours was brand new. It's fine now."

"Brand new?" Willow questioned slowly. "You mean like—"

"I mean that most two year essences don't encounter such heavy magic. It was interesting to heal that essence in a sixteen year old body."

Both Dawn and Willow sobered up at that. "So you know…" Willow trailed off, looking at Draco.

"I knew about it before I even came," Draco reassured them. "Giles made sure the three of us knew all about it before we agreed to get involved."

"Three? Who else knows?" Dawn asked, irritated that Giles had been telling other strangers about her. She rose up slowly on her elbow to look at Draco, who was still sitting on the bed.

"Just me and two friends, Pansy and Harry. Oh, and my mother. Harry had some problems with his magic when he battled a Dark Lord. Pansy is a Seer. They help me. My mother knows because Giles knew if he didn't tell her, she'd just torture me until I told her. He showed a great amount of compassion that day."

Draco wasn't about to go explaining the complex workings of his relationship with his ex and the man he once hated with two people he'd only met yesterday.

Dawn gaped at him. "Your mom would torture you? Remind me never to meet your mother."

Willow looked at him with caution. "This Harry person battled a Dark Lord? Doesn't that usually… change people?"

Of course it changed people, but someone who battled a powerful entity directly was changed more than anyone else. Potter, as usual, went above and beyond 'changing' and flat out became a new person entirely.

"It's a long story, you know," Draco said as a warning. "And I don't want to have to repeat myself. Besides, the story isn't appropriate right now. All you have to know is that he lost a lot of people in the battles, and the Dark Lord ended up possessing his girlfriend. She killed herself after going on a massacre. The rage overtook him. Now his own magic has changed too much; it's hard for him to control it. He consumed the Dark Lord and absorbed his dark power. He went along your train of thought and decided the world was better off without magic. Luckily, he was stopped."

"How…how is he?" Willow asked. That did come too close to her own story for her liking. She knew all too well what a rage over a lost lover would do. "I mean, I can only imagine what my magic did to his."

Draco peered down at her with an unreadable expression on his face. This was a good chance for him to really see how her grief affected her. It would either help or hinder her. Right now, it looked like they were going to have to work on it.

"He and Pansy will be arriving in a few weeks. You can meet him then and see for yourself."

"Will I—" Willow began, a panicked expression on her face.

"Nothing is going to happen," he assured her. "You have a lot of power, Willow, but Harry didn't. He absorbed so much dark magic that it nearly destroyed him. You just expanded yours and tainted it a bit. He went from pure to dark in seconds."

Draco sighed and shook his head, as if annoyed. "You'll see when you meet him. He's like a little puppy just begging to be cared for."

Draco led Dawn down the stairs, her needing to lean on him heavily. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, he steered her toward the kitchen, where he could hear voices drifting down the hall. He turned back to Dawn.

"Think you can make it?" he asked, teasingly. Dawn rolled her eyes and kept taking a few steps. "You're just as hardheaded as the rest of them," he mumbled in response to her steps.

As they entered the kitchen, Giles stopped in the middle of the conversation he was having with Buffy, and smiled. He had been worried when Draco told him that he'd have to work on Dawn a bit, but she was in capable hands. She did look better this morning.

Buffy turned to look at Dawn in concern. So far, she didn't like Draco Malfoy that much because she knew nothing about him. He was self-professed 'dark', whatever the hell that meant, and she wasn't taking chances with her baby sister. She had done too much to protect her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, wanting to go check on her.

"I'm fine," she replied as Draco helped her to a nearby chair. "I feel great, actually. Like, really great." Dawn grinned and nearly fell off the stool but quickly righted herself.

Buffy looked at Draco in alarm. What had he done to her sister? To her irritation, he just grinned in response.

"I just touched up her aura a bit. No harm done. Willow is still upstairs resting. She'll be moving slowly for the next few days, but she'll be fine in the long run, I think."

Seeing that Dawn was fine sitting up by herself, he walked over to the cabinets. "Tell me you lot have some sort of tea here. You have to." He spotted a box that had the word tea on it and pulled it out, making a face at it.

Draco turned around and held the box up. "You call this peppermint tea? It smells like someone smashed a candy cane into a box of old generic dirt." He turned back and put the box up, closing the cabinet doors with a growl. "No, peppermint tea is twice-brewed Tieguanyin with freshly grown peppermint and a dash of milk. _That_ is a cup of tea."

"And at fifteen dollars for a single bloody cup, it's the most outrageous bloody cuppa there ever was, you stuck up pillock," Giles said, glaring while Draco laughed.

"I never thought I would be the one saying this," Buffy said with a slight grin, "But you're a snob."

Draco laughed and grabbed his wand from his back pocket, conjuring a steaming cup of tea. The smell of peppermint filled the air. "No, I'm just someone with exquisite tastes and a delicate palate."

Everyone looked at each other, amused, before chiming "snob", which made Draco laugh even more. They would get along with the Gryffindors from England just perfectly. He shrugged and took a long sip from his cup. "I can't help the way I was raised."

Once the laughter died down, Xander became serious. "So you're a Sealer. That means what, exactly? You do your own mojo and heal the sick mojo-makers?"

Draco's eyebrow went up as he looked over at Giles.

"Don't even bother understanding it. Just explain it," he said with a sigh. Draco nodded and put down his cup of tea.

"What I do… what I am, is very rare and possibly dangerous. Some people can feel magic, but they're never able to truly visualize it." He sighed, realizing he wasn't explaining this very well. It was always hard to explain his way of magic to normal witches and wizards. Trying to explain it to people who hadn't encountered wand magic was going to be even more difficult.

"In each country, there are areas that are purely magical that only magical people can see. People who don't have magic in their veins, but can sense magic because they've been exposed to a lot of it, can also go to these areas. You all are sitting on a magical hotspot right now, and you can sense magic because you've been exposed to it so much. You can feel the magical signature of objects, or texts, or wards that are set up around magical places. It's a hum, almost. When I access my ability, I can actually see magic and touch it."

"But you said earlier something about magical signatures?" Xander asked. When Buffy,and Giles looked at him strangely, he leaned back defensively. "I listen, all right? He's messing with my Willow's head and stuff, so yeah, I'm going to pay attention. Have a little faith!"

Draco turned to Giles. "So he's the Weasley of the group?" he asked with a grin. "Can I charm his hair red and insult his lump of a house? It'll make me feel at home."[AL1]

"Hey!" Xander snapped. "You haven't even seen my place. How would you know it's a lump?"

The watcher just glared at Xander. Before turning back to Draco. "Get on with the explanations, will you? And no charms, curses, or hexes, either."

"Right," Draco replied with a grin. "Magic is a universal flow but as it is around a person, it adapts to their aura, which is unique to the individual." He frowned in thought. "The aura influences the magic with the individual fingerprint, making a signature of the person."

When he got nods around the kitchen, Draco continued.

"While magic becomes frayed, like a rope, auras crack. If there is damage to magic, the other magic around will try to compensate. An aura can't compensate, and when an aura is cracked, the magical flow becomes even more disrupted."

"But what happened with Willow?" Buffy asked, crossing her arms and leaning forward on the counter-top island. "

"What happened with Willow is a bit more complicated. It involved intricate magical aura theories that I'm pretty sure would melt your brain out of your pretty little head," Draco said. Buffy glared at him but gestured at him to continue.

"There cannot be a magical flow without an aura, which isn't a problem, since nearly everyone has one, but not everyone is susceptible to having or using magic. Once magic is around an aura for so long, and an aura is cracked, the magic frays along with it, and since an aura can't be compensated…"

"The magic can't either," Xander finished.

"Is that what happened with Willow? Her aura cracked and her magic went wonky?"

Draco shook his head at Dawn. "Like I said—it's a bit different."

The room was silent for a few moments. "So how are you helping her?" Buffy asked.

Draco sighed. "You're just going to have to trust me and trust her. Willow can do this if she really wants to. She's strong."

"That she is," Giles said with a small grin.


	3. Chapter 3

Author note: As I have told Jacy many times, I am completely overwhelmed at the amount of readers and good feedback I'm getting. I honestly didn't expect this many people to like it, although the reasons for people not liking it have made me laugh more than doubt myself. I'm glad to get past the hump that was chapter two and into this one. It starts a plotline that follows through the end of the fic, and for all you D/B shippers out there, you get some insight into my realm of D/B (which is also one of my lovely beta Jacy's favorite parts). Chapter Four will be out next Wednesday, and can I say I'm ready to get chapter five out there as well? *cue evil laughter*

Again, thanks for the good feedback and for the insights (and to some of you, the laughs). I try to respond to every single review I get. If I haven't responded to yours, nudge me and I'll correct it. If something confuses you, let me know. Some things will be revealed later and some things may just not make a lick of sense. I've been working on this for years, so I know what happens. If I've forgotten to put something to paper, let me know. Readers make the world go 'round!

……………….

When Willow woke for the second time since Draco had started her healing, her throat wasn't burning, and she felt much-more clear headed. Sitting up, she looked around the room, but didn't see Dawn or Draco. It was daylight outside, and she could hear the birds singing outside of the window.

For a moment she just stared out the window and into the blue sky. Her thoughts were still a bit fuzzy and it took a while for her muscles to respond the way she wanted, but she hadn't felt this good since… since before Tara died. The sadness she expected to come with that revelation didn't.

A knock on the door made her jump and startled her out of her thoughts, but she relaxed when she saw Draco come through the door with a plate of food and some water. When she saw the food, she realized she was hungry, something she hadn't noticed when she woke up.

"I figured you would probably be hungry, and I thought I'd just come up and check on you. You fell asleep pretty fast after you woke up. Dawn's already downstairs."

"I'm all…"

"Disoriented?" Draco asked. "That's normal. You'll be weak on your feet for a few days, but once you get used to the healing you'll be fine. Now, it's important for you to eat and stay hydrated. Your mind and magic can't get up to full strength if your body is weak."

Draco conjured a small lap table and set the plate and water on it. Willow took a small bite, and took a small sip of water before looking up at the blond, who was staring out the window of the room.

"So," she said nervously in a light voice. "Your mom was supposed to help me?"

He didn't turn around, and stayed looking out the window.

"No, I was supposed to help you. You were going to come to my mother's coven in Devon, which is where I normally stay with Pansy and Potter. She can do a bit of what I can do, but I'm better at it. It runs on my mother's side of the family, which is something she loves to remind my father of when he gets snippy."

Willow resumed eating in silence, and still Draco stayed looking out the window. After a few moments, she took a drink and made a face at Draco's back. He was being too quiet.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you that if you make faces like that it'll freeze that way?" Draco turned around and smirked. "I've frozen a few blokes' faces when they've mocked me like that. It's really quite funny."

"Do you have eyes in the back of your head or something?" she said petulantly while spearing a piece of broccoli with her fork and scraping it off the tongs with her teeth. The action just made Draco laugh.

"I saw your reflection in the window," he replied with a slightly condescending tone. "Not everything I do is magical, you know."

"And why are you staring out the window anyway?" she asked, not being as vicious with her fork when taking a bite. If he wanted to be a little punk, she'd sic Buffy on him later.

"I'm trying to figure out the magical flow of the town," he replied, coming back to sit in the wooden chair beside her bed.

It was something he always liked to do. Magical flows were distinct to each town, but the prospect of looking at the flow of the Hellmouth was too tempting.

Willow snorted and took another bite.

Draco looked at her. "What was that for?"

Willow just took a drink of water. "Good luck trying to figure it out. The Hellmouth changes the flows so many times I gave up even looking at it unless I needed to. One moment it'll flow to the east and then suddenly something will make it change and flow up."

Draco frowned. "You mean north."

She just grinned and shook her head. "Up. Like… up away from the core of the earth. It was one of the strangest things I ever saw when it first happened. And it'll only do it in places. The flow will completely leave the ground, leaving a magical dead pocket."

Leaning forward, Draco listened intently. "Amazing. I've never heard of something like that happening. It _never_ happens. So the magic is basically rejected from that dead pocket? I'd love to see that sometime."

"It doesn't happen often, but it's noticeable when it does." Willow took a deep breath. "That's how Rack changed his location so many times. He would stay beside the dead pockets so it was harder to track him, unless you knew to _look_ for the dead pockets. I got good at looking for them."

"Rack got what he deserved," Draco said darkly. At Willow's curious expression, he shook his head. "I knew the bastard, Willow. He didn't like me at all. Hired mercenaries to come after me once after I double-crossed him in a black magic deal."

He moved his shirt to show a thin scar that ran from the top of his right shoulder, across his clavicle and ending close to his sternum. It was a faded line that was slightly darker than the rest of his skin tone.

"He tried to kill you? Just how badly did you double cross him?" Willow asked, still staring at the scar.

"Enough that if he stepped foot out of California he would be incinerated. Literally. It's not wise to give a dark wizard a blood sample, no matter how protected you might think it to be." He covered up the scar. "That's why he sent someone else to kill me. I never found out what he thought about getting their heads as presents," he added thoughtfully.

Willow paused, taking everything in. She already knew he was a professed dark wizard, but knowing he willingly killed people scared her, since she had done the exact same. But while his was self-defense, she killed out of malice. And he was helping her now, so surely he defected from the dark.

She jumped when his finger tapped her temple. He grinned at her in response. "You're thinking too loud."

"I just…"

"Have more questions," he nodded. "Ask them. In the positions we're in, truth is crucial."

Taking a deep breath, she kept her gaze on her plate. She wasn't sure how to breach the subject of his magical affinity with him. Light magic users were offended when they were accused of becoming dark, and dark magic users were offended when they were accused of becoming light. It was a tricky line to walk. She just decided to dive right in.

"Did you become a light wizard?"

Draco's snort surprised her. His answer surprised her even more.

"Hell no. I'd rather kill myself than become a light wizard." Her eyes shot up and met his, and she saw the honesty there. "I'm a dark wizard, and I'm proud of that fact. Darkness runs through my veins, and the only way I'd become light is if I bled myself dry and became a completely different person who didn't deserve to wear my skin, see through my eyes, listen through my ears, or speak my voice."

It had to be her mind playing tricks on her. She was tired, after all, and she was healing. But Willow swore the more he talked, despite the sun shining outside, shadows fell across his face and the room became darker. His voice became smoother and his eyes themselves darkened.

"Being dark isn't bloodshed and insanity. It's a smooth, pure power that only certain people can attain. It takes control and concentration to achieve darkness. It's intoxicating."

Draco smirked, and Willow saw the darkness in him, and saw how he reveled in it. He leaned closer to her, lowering his voice to a whisper.

"It's sweetness and bitterness at the same time; riding on the waves of passion, while skimming the edge of danger. Trying not to just fall in the black ocean of desire while making sure you're completely aware of every single thing around you."

Her eyes were closed and she was breathing deep, taking in precious air. Draco leaned back, smirk still on his face.

"And that is why I will never turn to light. Once you've had a proper taste of darkness, there's no going back. You just have to know balance."

Willow slowly opened her eyes. "Wow. That was…"

"Incredible?" Draco filled in for her. She just blinked.

"I was going to say nifty, but incredible works too."

……………………….

Draco left the bedroom and slowly closed the door behind him, making sure the door shut quietly. He turned to head back down the stairs, but jumped when Buffy was standing in front of him, arms crossed.

"Wear a damned bell!" he hissed, glaring at the slayer, who just stared back with an amused grin.

"Is she asleep?" Buffy asked, walking with him in the hallway. Giles had assured that Draco was going to do fine and that he didn't need her looking over his shoulder, but she was going to look as long as she wanted to.

"No, I just snuck out of the room trying to be quiet because I felt like being a ninja!" Her grin widened and he rolled his eyes. "Yes, she's sleeping. I got her to eat and drink a bit, before she passed out. It'll only be like this for another day, and then she'll be back on a normal sleeping schedule."

Buffy nodded and they arrived at her bedroom. Draco heard Giles downstairs, and as much as he needed to talk to him, he needed to talk to Buffy more.

"I don't like that face," Buffy said with a frown. "Why don't I like that face?"

"I need to talk to you."

Buffy immediately became worried. "Is it about Dawn? About when you healed her?"

"No, no!" Draco rushed to correct her. There was no need to be beaten to death by the Slayer. "It's not about Dawn. It's more about you, and it also has a bit to do with healing."

Buffy motioned him inside her room. As he entered, he looked around the room, and moved aside when, after closing the door, Buffy sat on her bed. "So if this isn't about Dawn, what _is_ it about?"

There wasn't an easy way to lead into the subject, so Draco decided to be blunt, and figured she would appreciate that more, anyway.

"It's about you."

Buffy wasn't expecting that by the way she laughed.

"Me? _I_ need to be healed? I'm not magical though."

Draco shook his head and leaned against the wall across from her bed, crossing his arms. "You're a magical being. You still have an aura. And yours has been screaming at me since I first walked through the door."

A confused expression came over Buffy's face. "My aura was screaming at you?"

"I told you I can see and feel magic, but sometimes, if it's strong enough, I can hear it. And your aura is definitely strong enough."

She let out a deep breath. "So, why would my aura scream at you?"

Draco let out a deep breath of his own. "Because it's in pain." He pushed off the wall and went to sit next to her on the bed. "When a person is born, so is their aura. When a person dies, their aura dies with them."

He could tell she realized where he was getting at. "Since I've died twice, Buffy's aura is saying 'ouch'."

Draco smirked. "Welcome to the end of the thought process."

Buffy just rolled her eyes. "So, what, you do a little magic and it doesn't hurt anymore?"

"It's not as simple as that," Draco replied. "Every time you died, so did your aura. Every time you were brought back, so was your aura. The thing is, from looking into the aura, it duplicated itself when it came back."

Buffy did the math in her head. "I have three auras?"

Draco nodded. "Yes, but only one active one. When you came back the first time, your aura tried to kick-start itself. When it couldn't, it stayed dead and a new one was born. The dead aura just exists right behind the old one." Draco tried to be as gentle with his voice as he could. "When you came back this last time – the third time you were 'born,' as it were - you were given a new aura, but under the magical circumstances, it completely shattered. Your physical body may be strong, but your mental and magical state is very weak. You're open to possession, insanity—"

"Hold it," Buffy interrupted him. "You're saying I'm one step away from being possessed or insane?"

"If someone had the means of possession of the mind, yes. You would lose control of yourself and it would drive you insane."

"Well fix it!" Buffy said a bit hysterically. "I don't care how you do it, just fix me!"

Draco laughed without humor. "I don't think I can."

Buffy didn't share his laughter. "What do you mean you can't? You're just going to help Willow and Dawn but not me?"

"I said I don't think I can do it period, not that I can't heal you. I don't think it's possible." He paused, shaking his head in wonder. "Don't you get it? You weren't supposed to come back. And the way you came back? Or even when? People don't come back after being in the ground for two months. Your aura was gone, completely. A few minutes isn't much, because there are ways of bringing people back, and auras are designed to keep functioning after a body's death. Auras grow from the time they're born to the time when they can be used—which is years. Yours was shattered upon it's birth. It never had a chance to be whole. I can't fix something that's not broken, in a sense."

Even as he said the words, he could see in Buffy's eyes that she wasn't taking "no" for an answer.

"I can't live my life knowing that one of the bad guys could use me like that. I don't care what you think you can't do. Fix. It." Her gaze was hard as steel, and her jaw was set. Draco acknowledged her with a nod.

"At least wait until tomorrow, until I can ask some of the coven about it. I can give you a crystal that will protect against possession for thirty-one days, if you're honestly that worried about it."

Buffy held out her hand expectantly, with an eager look on her face, and Draco rolled his eyes. "I don't have it with me. It's in my bag downstairs. Which reminds me, where the bloody hell am I supposed to sleep?"

The Slayer thought about it for a moment. "Wait, where did you sleep last night?"

"I didn't," he replied, standing up. "I was up all night watching both your sister and Willow. Not everyone reacts the way I'd like to the healings, and I didn't want to risk anything happening to them. I need to stay with Willow tonight, but after that I'll need to sleep."

Buffy stood up as well. He could see she was a bit nervous. "So, what happens if I don't react to the healing like you'd like?"

He looked back at her with confidence. "We'll figure something out."

As they left her room, Buffy made a face. "So, you're not going to sleep tonight either?"

Draco grinned. "I'm used to not sleeping, or sleeping lightly. I can meditate and get a full night's rest in 30 minutes."

She pouted. "God, I hate you." Draco just laughed as he walked down the stairs. Giles was in the living room looking over some texts, but brought his gaze to the couple walking down the stairs.

"Join the club, Buffy. It's only out of respect for his mother that I haven't strangled him yet," Giles said dryly. "And he used to be worse."

When Buffy looked at Draco with an incredulous look on her face, he rolled his eyes. "Father always said a Malfoy's neck should be begging for a good strangle. I'm glad to not have disappointed him."

Giles went back to his text with a chuckle. "And how is your father? Still evil?"

"Of course," Draco replied, throwing himself onto the couch next to Giles and propping his feet up on the table, next to some books. The watcher glared at him which earned him a grin in return. "He's glad I'm gone. I think his exact words were 'Now that you are no longer in the country, I no longer have to worry over your worthless arse.' He wasn't too happy when I told him that Potter was staying at the coven with Pansy. His eye started twitching," he said with a snicker. "It's worth having Potter trail me just for that eye twitch. Kind of like how yours is now."

Giles glared at him again while Buffy stared down at him, confused.

"Wait, your dad's evil? Not dark like you, but really evil?"

Draco nodded. "Sure is. Well, he was. He is still, I guess. He hasn't killed anyone in ages, though," he added with a smile, before his expression turned thoughtful. "Although I think he tortured Beshford in Magical Transportation. He gets twitchy when someone says my last name."

Buffy stared at him and shook her head. "You are so strange. Your dad is evil, he's killed people and tortured them, and you don't care. Is your mother like this, too?"

"Oh, please," Draco scoffed. "Mother isn't like that at all."

Giles started to cough. "Hellhounds," he said into his hand.

Draco sat up, taking his feet off the coffee table. "Okay, she released those _once_ and I don't blame her. Those pretentious little Junior Aurors had no right to go after the Manor like that. They didn't have permission to do a raid. They thought it'd be fun to scope out the grounds."

"Draco, those three young men now wet themselves when a dog barks!" Giles snapped. Before Draco could respond, they were interrupted by Buffy laughing. When they both looked at her, she stopped laughing.

"What? I just think it's funny that grown men got so scared of little hellhounds that they pee all over themselves when a baby Chihuahua would bark. I mean, yeah, they're tough, but aren't you magic types supposed to be able take down creatures like that?"

Giles took off his glasses and laid them on the books in front of him. "Buffy, these hellhounds aren't like the ones you fought in high school. The Malfoy hellhounds are bred to be destructive and they are magic-repellant. They're purebred hounds from hell. They're more powerful and vicious than werewolves."

Her eyes widened and all laughter left her face. She turned to Draco and blinked owlishly. "I'll never piss you off again. Promise."


	4. Chapter 4

I Am For You Part 4

Being Normal Again

Here it is, chapter four! Things to know about this chapter: this was written well over a year than chapter three. I did not go in chronological order. Case in point? I'm writing chapter 16 now whereas I've had the ending, chapter 20, done for months. This is very close to coming to an end as far as writing the stupid thing goes.

This is mostly a filler chapter, delving more into Willow's character. It also unleashes some humor before the darkness comes. The next chapter will pick up. And when I say pick up, I mean roller coaster ride. We start on a mini-plot that makes some characters question themselves and others. It's by far one of my favorite plot points of the story.

As usual, thanks to everyone who is commenting and leaving thoughts and questions. Some questions I honestly can't answer because I address the problems in later chapters, but if there is an issue that you think I need to address (and serious issues only, please), let me know. I'll tell if I've thought an end to it or not.

And to everyone who tells me to update soon, so sorry. My updates come on every Wednesday, although since this is close to being finished, I may update twice a week. I'm not sure yet. Thoughts?

Last but not least, thanks to the lovely Jacy, who never fails to amuse me, get my muses thinking, and irritate me to no end when she gets me in the mood for angst or gives me cracked out ideas. *loves*

………………………………

Every time she woke up, Willow felt like it was a new her waking up. The first time she woke up, her throat had been burning from the healing. The second time she had just been hungry, and slightly weak. Now, she felt like she could run a marathon and not get tired.

After sitting in the bed a few moments, she realized that she was half-expecting Draco to walk through the door. He had always been there when she was awake, and as Willow was sitting up and leaning against the headboard, she looked around absentmindedly.

Being in the master bedroom didn't hurt like it had, but it still brought a sadness. After she had been brought back by Xander, she had done nothing but sleep downstairs on the couch for a good few days while everyone cleaned up and healed around her. A week had passed before Giles took her upstairs and into the room where Tara had been shot. It had been the first time she could properly grieve, which meant spending another few days crying and remembering every little moment she'd had with her lover.

When she thought she couldn't cry anymore, another memory would come to her, and the tears would fall again. Xander had come in and given her food and water during mealtimes, and only when Buffy would drag her away would she go to the bathroom to shower and freshen up.

Remembering those first few days were hard. When Giles had announced she would be leaving and going to England with him, Willow was secretly happy. Getting away from here would mean getting away from the pain, even for a little bit.

This was the first time since Draco had arrived that she was awake and fully aware and still remembering about Tara. The day before, when she'd thought about her dead lover, the pain hadn't come, but now it was rolling in waves, almost choking her.

"It still hurts," she said into the still room, breaking the silence. A small tear fell down her cheek. "It hurts a lot, baby, but I think I'm getting better. I know you'd want me to get better."

She took a deep breath and stifled the sobs that threatened to erupt. Deciding that a shower would be nice, she slowly got up and held onto the bed as she made her way to the bathroom. The hot shower felt nice, as did brushing her teeth. Willow ran a brush through her slightly tangled hair and washed her face. There were circles forming under her eyes and she sighed, knowing that she needed to start taking better care of herself.

After pulling some clean clothes out and changing, Willow certainly felt better, but there was a small hole inside. Her hands needed to do something, so she started to make the bed, methodically smoothing out every line and crease in the bedding. Once she was finished, she sat down on the made bed and wrapped her arms around herself. She still felt lonely.

Willow jumped when the door opened. Draco grinned at her amazed expression.

"How do you do that?"

Draco walked over to the bed and sat down next to her. "Do what?"

"Know exactly what I need right when I need it the most. When I was thirsty, you brought me water. When I was hungry, you brought me food as soon as I woke up. When I feel alone, you appear."

He smirked at her. "Magic talks, if you know the language. Your magic, however, is screaming. It's been screaming for a long time. It didn't like being abused like it was, and so it kept screaming at you to stop, but you didn't listen. It's still trying to get your attention. I'm going to teach you to listen to your magic, but until you do, I'll be lending an ear. Magic knows what's best for a person's body, so it's telling you to eat or drink. When you don't listen, I do."

Willow sat silently for a moment. "Why can't I hear it?" she asked after a moment. Taking deep breaths, she tried not to sound so helpless when she talked. "Am I really that far gone that I don't even notice when my magic is in pain? I hear whispers, but nothing like anger or hurt."

Draco shook his head. "You haven't been listening to your magic for a long time, Willow. The whispers you hear is that left over magic you stored from the coven. I thought you kept it, but when you stopped raising that temple, you released a flood of magic—the coven's magic. It was released back into the earth, where it was given back."

"When we met," she said, looking at in him confusion, "you said that I had some of your magic."

"You do. You kept select pieces of magic for yourself. The problem is it's _my_ magic, so I have to get it back, but I don't want to take it from you. I'll help you coax it out and we can exchange it later."

She was quiet for a few moments before shaking her head. "I really can't hear it." Willow sighed. "What is it saying?"

Draco put his hand on her back and rubbed gently. She would get better, but he knew the feeling he had the first time he was able to hear his magic. He couldn't imagine going back to the void where his head was always quiet. "It's saying you need to eat, and everyone's about to start diving into lunch downstairs. Think you're up to seeing people?"

The feeling that she could run a marathon quickly left and all she wanted to do was get back in bed and never leave. But even as she considered it, she knew she wouldn't be able to. She had to see her friends.

Draco laughed and Willow looked over to him in confusion. He explained. "That look on your face. It's like I just told you I was going to push you off a cliff. It's just lunch with friends who love you, you know. It's nothing as dire as what you're imagining." His grin was reassuring. "This is your family, and you're ready for this."

Even as she listened to his reassurances, she knew he was speaking the truth. She was getting better, and seeing her family would help. Willow nodded and gave Draco a small smile. "You know, you have a pretty good resolve face."

It disappeared and was replaced with Draco rolling his eyes. "It comes from dealing with stubborn Gryffindors and irritating Hufflepuffs. I had to learn to put my foot down or get run over." He stood and offered a hand to Willow. "Come on, I'll be there every step of the way."

………………………….

Lunch was simple—sandwiches, chips, and drinks. Dawn was experimenting with chips on the sandwiches while Buffy and Giles got everything ready for Draco and Willow. Buffy tried not to get her hopes up that Willow would be joining them. She hadn't been able to see her in days, but Draco said she was coming along nicely, and also told them she would be coming down for lunch.

A napkin was waved in front of her face and she pulled back, following the napkin to Giles, who was holding it. "Is there a reason you stuck that thing in my face?"

"You're putting mustard on your hand, and I figured you would like to stop and wipe it off," he said with a small grin.

Buffy looked down to her hands. Sure enough, she had been thinking too much and started to bypass the bread, putting mustard on her wrist. With a sigh and glare, she took the napkin and started to clean off her hands.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about Willow. I hope we get to see her."

"You're talking as if she's been sent away and you haven't seen her in weeks. She's just been upstairs, Buffy. You could have visited her," Giles admonished.

Buffy sighed and nodded. "I know, it's just, I didn't want to mess things up for her."

Giles grinned and took the sandwiches Buffy had finished and put them on a plate. "Trust me, if you had been doing anything that Draco didn't like, he'd let you know."

"I can hear you!" They heard Draco shout from the top of the stairs. Buffy and Giles looked at each other with a grin, and Dawn put down her sandwich chip mix. They all looked at the entrance to the kitchen with a bit of nervousness.

Before they reached the bottom of the stairs, Draco turned around to face Willow. He squeezed her hand and smiled. "You're ready."

She made a face at him. "You sure? Because I can go right back upstairs—"

"I will carry you over my shoulder if you even try it," he interrupted with a glare. "You've made it this far. I know you must be hungry, and I also know you want to see Buffy and Giles."

"You're right," she agreed with a sigh. Willow tightened her grip on his hand and he led her down the rest of the stairs and through the dining room. When they entered the kitchen, Willow tentatively smiled at everyone. "Hello."

Draco rolled his eyes and guided her to the island, sitting her next to Dawn. The young girl promptly gave Willow a hug. When she pulled back, she grabbed her chip sandwich and held it up.

"Want a bite? It's actually not that bad."

Draco wrinkled his nose. "That is foul, and I can't believe you would willingly put that in your body."

Dawn retaliated by sticking out her tongue. Draco pulled out his wand and raised an eyebrow. "Do that again and I'll make it so long even you won't be able to roll it up in that big mouth of yours."

"Hey! Only I can threaten my sister," Buffy said with a grin. She walked to the other side of the island and sat next to Willow, also giving her a hug. "Missed you, Will. You look great."

Willow tightly returned the hug. "Missed you too. No more mopey Willow." She closed her eyes and sighed. "Promise. No more mopey Willow."

When Buffy pulled back, she smiled. "How about hungry Willow? We have plenty of sandwiches and chips to go around. Ones that aren't abominations," she added, glaring at her sister. Willow grabbed one of the sandwiches from the plate, only to have Buffy snatch it out of her hands. "Just… not that one. It has way too much mustard."

Draco rolled his eyes. "You call this lunch?" he asked Giles. "You've been Americanized. I thought we snapped you out of that when you came back to our side of the pond."

"Shut up, Draco," Giles said, taking a vicious bite out of his sandwich. "We weren't all born with silver spoons in our mouths."

Dawn looked up with wide eyes. "You were born with a spoon in your mouth? Didn't you choke?"

Draco groaned and leaned over the island, his elbows hitting the top hard. He put his head in his hands. "I think my IQ is dropping by being the same room as you lot."

"I didn't know someone could have a negative IQ," Buffy said innocently as she loaded her plate with food. Draco glared at her and ripped the plate from her hands, taking a bite out of a chip.

"One day, you won't be able to be such a smart-arse. I'm going to pay you back for all the things you've said."

"I'm so scared," Buffy deadpanned, making Dawn giggle. "Now eat up, Princess Malfoy."

Giles laughed softly. "Don't get him started. You've only met one person out of the group he runs with. The rest are every bit as pompous and stuck up as he is, and he's not even the most irritating one."

Buffy looked horrified. "Are you serious? There are more like him?"

Draco's smirk was slightly sinister when everyone turned to look at him. "Dozens, but only a select few are Slytherin as we are. You'll meet some of them when they show up. My ex-girlfriend but current friend, Pansy, for one, and our best friend Blaise."

"Don't worry, Buffy. Pansy is the relatively normal one," Giles assured her.

Draco snorted and rolled his eyes. "If you tell her that, she'll hex you and string you up by your toenails. She hates being called normal." He took a bite out of his sandwich and grinned.

"He's not the most irritating?" Buffy asked with her brow raised. "Are you sure about that?"

Giles' eyes narrowed at Draco, who continued to grin. "He used to be almost likable, but once he gained his Sealer abilities, he became unbearable."

Willow quickly grabbed the water close to her and swallowed a mouthful to keep from choking. She looked up to Draco. "You're a soul healer?" she asked in awe.

Buffy nudged her. "You didn't know? Although I thought he was called a Sealer and not a—" The slayer stopped mid-sentence and grinned. "I get it. Soul healer—Sealer. You just put them together. I totally get it now." Her smile faded as everyone stared at her strangely. "Did no one else get that?"

"That's part of it," Draco replied, "but I am a Sealer as well because I can seal auras and magical breaks. But you still get points for trying." He walked over to the other side of the island and nudged Willow in the back. "Come join me in the backyard when you're finished being a social butterfly."

He walked to the backdoor, his hands full with his drink and sandwich. Dawn started to stand to open the door when Draco looked back at her and smirked as the door opened itself. She glared at him and sat back down.

"You waited until I was standing to open the door. Meanie."

Draco just walked out and the door closed behind him. Willow turned to Buffy and smiled tentatively. "So, what have I missed recently? I know I've been out of it, but—"

"Shh," Buffy said, putting a finger to Willow's lips. "It doesn't matter. It's in the past. This is a new Willow. Let's eat before Princess steals you away."

"I heard that!" came the muffled voice from outside. Everyone rolled their eyes, and Giles started up a new conversation staying away from volatile topics.

……………………….

Willow had been enjoying the laughter for the past hour. The dishes had been done and the leftover food put away. The conversations had been light, but she knew that Draco was expecting her soon.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Draco probably wants to scratch the door to either be let in or get me out. I'll be back soon. He told me earlier that I won't be passing out every time I get my magic touched up."

Buffy gripped Willow's hand and squeezed it tightly, giving her an encouraging smile. Willow took strength in her friends and slowly stood, heading out the door. She closed it softly and looked for Draco. He was lounging underneath a tree in the yard, his eyes closed. She quietly made her way down the steps and over to him.

"You certainly took your time getting out here. Have a nice chat?" he asked, his eyes still closed.

Willow grinned. "I did. Thanks for making me go down and eat lunch with them. I needed it, I think."

Draco nodded and finally opened his eyes. "You did. Your magic is calm now. It's a good time to start working on your aura. Are you up to it?"

She smiled. "No, but I've learned from you that just because I don't feel like it doesn't mean that I'm not ready to do it."

"Good girl. You're learning." Draco sat up and crossed his legs, putting his palms on his knees. "Mimic my position and close your eyes." When Willow had done what she was told, Draco relaxed his own stance and studied Willow's face.

"Concentrate on the earth's magic." He grabbed one of her hands and lifted it from her knee and put it on the grass. "Do you feel the pulse? It's heartbeat?"

There was silence for a few moments as he waited for Willow to search out the earth's magic. He knew the second she did, but she wasn't feeling it. She was taking it.

"No, Willow," he gripped her hand in his and pulled it away from the ground slightly. "You're not taking it. This is why you can't communicate with your magic. You're not listening. Now, focus on the magic and just _listen_ to it. Nothing else."

He gently laid her hand back on the grassy ground. It took a few more tries for her to reach out to the magic and not automatically take it, but on the sixth try, her eyes shot open and her mouth dropped.

"I hear it!" she said in excitement. A grin spread across her face. "I can hear it!"

Draco returned her grin. "That's good. Now, just keep listening for a few moments, and then pull away."

Willow did as instructed and slowly lifted her hand and put it back on her knee. "Wow. I had forgotten how much I missed that voice."

"Well, you'll hear it again. I want you to attempt to listen again, but quicker. Sometimes listening to the earth is one of the best things a magic user can do in a situation, and usually there isn't enough time to slowly reach out for it. Keep trying, and don't give up when it takes time."

Willow concentrated hard, closing her eyes, and put her hand back on the ground. She felt the grass between her fingers, and this time she slowly moved her hands over the smooth blades. She kept her breathing deep, and strained to listen to the magic she hadn't listened to in a while. She connected to it quicker this time, and sighed when whispers washed over her. Basking in the soothing calm, she vowed to never ignore her magic again. Willow slowly lifted her hand away and let the connection drop. The third time she reached down, she could have sworn the magic lurched up and connected to her, instead of the other way around. Nervous, she opened her eyes and looked to Draco, who was smiling widely.

"That's the way it should be. Magic wants us, Willow, and all we have to do is reach out and listen to its commands, and it'll do anything for us."

To anyone who had never used magic, they would have been confused as to why tears were flowing down her cheeks as she moved her hands through the grass. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and a light breeze caressed her face. She closed her eyes and smiled. It had been too long since she had been still and listened.

"Now," Draco began gently," I want you to do the same thing. Only this time, instead of reaching out the magic of the earth, you're going to reach inwards and listen to your own magic. It'll be harder and more painful, because it's more personal. The earth has wanted to speak to you, but you betrayed your own magic, and it's wounded."

Willow nodded solemnly. "I understand." With a final brush across the grass, she pulled her hand away and put it back on her knee. She let out a deep breath and closed her eyes, focusing on her own magic.

Draco had been right. It was harder, and every time she thought she had touched her own magic, it would lurch away. She couldn't help but be discouraged. Frustrated, she opened her eyes. "It won't even talk to me!"

"Can you blame it?" Draco asked, and Willow sighed, shaking her head. "Keep trying. Why don't you try asking it to speak, instead of reaching for it? Apologize while you're at it, and maybe you'll make some leeway. And once you communicate with it, keep talking. Don't worry about anything else except your own magic."

She closed her eyes again and focused inward. It was different than reaching out to the earth, because that magic was ready to reconcile. Her own magic that was within her hadn't forgiven her yet, and was being rather, well, bitchy. Doing as Draco instructed, she decided to be still and allow herself to listen. A few minutes went by and she felt nothing. Then, slowly, she felt her magic reach out and touch her, but it was scared. It briefly touched her, and she felt herself warming up.

Willow smiled, her eyes still closed. "It's here. It's like a wounded puppy, but it's there." The magic curled up around her and she didn't dare move, for fear of frightening it off. Suddenly, she knew it was time for her to stop listening. Her magic was still tired from being used so much. With a sigh, she bid goodbye to her magic and opened her eyes.

She started in shock when she looked around. It was dark outside and Draco was not in front of her like he had been a few moments ago. Her hair flew wildly as she quickly looked around. She was in the exact same spot she had been sitting in, but it had to have been hours later. The sun had been high in the sky when she had first come out here.

Her back hurt from sitting so rigidly for so long, and Willow winced as she stood up slowly. The lights inside the house were on, and she saw people moving inside. The back door opened and Draco walked out with a grin.

"That was a very long conversation. Have a nice talk?"

Willow was confused. "I couldn't have talked more than ten minutes. It wasn't really even a conversation. I just felt my magic curl around me, heat me up, and then leave!"

"I never said there would be a verbal conversation, now did I? Sometimes listening to your magic involves simply letting it be close to you. It didn't seem like a long time because to magic, time is fleeting. It's different for something that's been around forever and isn't restricted by something so trivial as time." Draco held out his hand. "Dinner's on the table. Hungry?"

She hadn't realized how hungry she was until he had mentioned dinner. Her stomach growled and she blushed, making Draco laugh.

"Dinner it is. You did wonderful today, and we'll work more tomorrow. Right now, let's feed that monster in your stomach."

Willow slapped his arm as he snickered and followed him inside.


	5. Chapter 5

This is one of my favorite chapters I've ever written. It brings in a character that wasn't part of the original story I started three years ago. Her appearance in the story and how she relates brings out feelings and actions in certain characters that changes perceptions, and I love it.

Another big announcement: This fic is finished. Something happened last Tuesday and the muse mashed out chapter 16, one of the most difficult chapters I tried to write. The muse continued on Wednesday, and I bashed out an addition 10,000 words and completely finished the fic. Yes, it's done. I will still only be posting a chapter a day.

I do have an idea for a sequel, but that is not my priority right now. NaNoWriMo is coming up, and I'm a co-ML for my area. I have two parties and a retreat planned during November, and I don't have time for fanfiction. I want to play with my own characters for a bit.

What I can do is post two chapters a week—Tuesday and Friday. That means the fic gets posted quicker and there is a longer time between this fic and the possible sequel. It's up to you guys. Until I get some feedback on that, I'll continue to post on Wednesday (like I do every week despite insist reviewers telling me to update sooner, which cracks me and Jacy up).

Now, onto the story! Thanks for the awesome feedback on chapter four. Also, bow to Jacy for her amazing beta skillz. She's my crazy best friend, as you can read on the Twisting the Hellmouth review board. ILYBB.

……………

Draco took his hand off of Willow's head with a sigh of irritation. Willow opened her eyes and looked at him in confusion.

"What? Is something wrong?"

Draco had been here for over a week, working with her on controlling her magic and healing the cracks and frays that riddled her aura. It was a difficult process, one that often made her want to quit and just crawl back into bed, but she was getting better. Draco pushed her and with his help, she was beginning to see a lot of progress.

Up until yesterday. For some reason, she was unable to make any noticeable strides in her healing, and her magic was starting to act up. She'd noticed it but hadn't said anything. It looked like Draco had finally seen it as well.

"There's a block on your healing. It's a strange heat," Draco told her as he stepped away from her. They were in the kitchen, the door to the back yard open to let the fresh summer air in. He went out and looked at the bright lawn and sighed again. "There's a heat surrounding your magic. You're having a problem getting past a feeling of guilt. A part of you wants this to hurt. You want to be punished."

Willow just stared at him with a shocked look on her face. "I've been feeling very hot lately, but I thought it was just from magical burnout. And as for the guilt, I just… I did something bad. I nearly destroyed the world. Shouldn't I be punished?"

Draco turned to her with crossed arms and a sour look on his face. "Every time you did something to save the world did you get a grand thank you?"

"But," Willow started to argue, but Draco interrupted her.

"Why is that different?"

"It was bad!" she shouted at him.

"From whose point of view?" he retorted, making her stop. "So you nearly destroyed the world. You've saved it, too. Just because being dark makes you different doesn't make it wrong. There is a line, Willow. You crossed it and now you're back. There is not one person that should tell you where that line is though. That's up to you."

Willow hunched over as she pondered Draco's words. "I still feel bad. Not necessarily like I'll never get over it, but I regret going that deep."

He took a seat next to her by the island. "There's more. There's a block that runs deeper than that, and it goes farther back. It's the heat surrounding your magic. You either tell me or I dig, and you might not like the digging. It's personal."

The red head squirmed in her seat. "I don't know for sure, but it may be Amy."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "Madison? What does she have to do with this?"

"You know Amy?" Willow asked.

"I ran with Rack's crowd for a while when I was making deals, remember? Big scar, evil blood curse? Her name popped up a couple of times, but just how she had botched a transfiguration. I never met her."

"Well, she's a rat no longer." Willow folded her arms on the island and laid her head down on them. "I used my magic to de-rat her, and we pretty much wreaked havoc everywhere. She's the one who took me to Rack."

Draco was silent for a moment as he observed Willow. "I still don't understand. Why is she blocking your healing? What does she have to do with the heat? Surely you don't feel guilty for leaving her a rat for so long…"

"I feel guilty for not leaving her like that!" Willow snapped, but then quickly covered her mouth with hands. Draco's eyebrows shot up as tears gathered in Willow's eyes.

"I think that's not one of the options I ever thought of. Why?"

She took in a few deep, shuddering breaths. "I know I was going deep already, but if I had left her as a rat, she wouldn't have taken me dark, and then I wouldn't have known Rack." A small sob escaped her. "And then people would still be alive, and Amy wouldn't be…"

"Continuing on the path she had already gone down before she was turned into a rat?" Draco asked with a small grin. "How do you think she knew about Rack? Her mother knew Rack, and the familial contacts just kept trickling down. Her mother's family has been long time black art dealers. Amy's grandfather did business with my grandfather."

At Willow's shocked look, Draco's brow furrowed. "She didn't tell you," he said. "Eventually, the transfiguration would have been reversed, and she would have run back to her old life. Don't feel bad that she went deep. She lives there."

He slowly put a hand on Willow's head and closed his eyes, only to open them in a glare. "After knowing that you still have a problem?"

Willow made a face in retaliation, making Draco rolled his eyes. "I can't help it. There's a part of me that will feel better, get better, I know this! But at the same time, something is stopping it."

Draco kept gazing into her eyes that were now glossy with unshed tears. He straightened his back and put his hands on either side of her face, letting his palms rest gently below her ears. His thumbs gently rubbed back and forth on her cheeks, and he slowly leaned them together, until their heads touched.

"Let me in, just a bit. I have a theory."

Willow pulled back a bit and glared. "If you start singing, I'll smack you."

"I'm trying to be serious, and you want me to sing?" Draco glared at her as well. "Calm down and don't be nervous. I want to see something."

They went back to their previous position, Willow lightly leaning her weight on Draco's legs as she rested her palms on them. With an exhale, she leaned against him even more, his hands on her face keeping their heads still.

Suddenly jolted, Draco drew back with a resigned look on his face. "Even in death the bastard irritates me."

Willow looked at him curiously, not understand his words, but he didn't explain.

"Fine. I can see this is going to have to happen another way. I'll be back tomorrow."

Draco stood from the barstool and headed out the open back door. Willow nearly pitched forward, but caught herself and ran after him, leaning out the door.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

When he turned around, his grin was anything but cheerful. "Hunting."

He disappeared with a wave of his wand and a pop, leaving Willow staring at an empty backyard. Dawn came down the stairs and started rummaging through some cabinets.

"Watcha doin'?" she asked after putting a bowl on the counter. Willow turned around with a pout.

"Worrying about Draco's sanity."

Dawn snorted. "Welcome to the club."

……………………

_Los Angeles, California_

It was the next biggest hot spot for dark magic past Sunnydale. He'd had to pull some old strings to get into the club no questions asked. He hadn't been that worried about it. Just a flash of his left arm and he'd get in with the best service available for him, but he didn't want it known there was a Death Eater in town. That was liable to bring the American Ministry down on him, and getting in America undetected had been hard enough.

The sporadic lights let him glimpse around the packed area. It was a small, cramped warehouse that had wards crawling over every surface. It was perfect for dealers and addicts alike to get their fix.

Draco avoided the main floor and stuck to the shadows. As he was passing a random couple slumped against the wall, a young girl brushed against his left arm and immediately gasped, gripping his shoulder.

"It's hot. Are you—"

Draco captured her wrist in a bruising grip and slung her hand off his shoulder, shoving her into the wall. He should have put a cooling charm on his arm. The Dark Mark always radiated hot, a sign of intense and focused dark magic.

"Not. Interested."

He stalked off deeper into the warehouse, ignoring all the hands reaching for him. Draco's eyes were quickly looking over the faces until he saw the one he was searching for.

Amy Madison.

She was leaning against a chair that was turned away from the dance floor of the warehouse, and turned towards an ottoman and a long line of shaking and twitchy people. Amy was looking at a middle-aged man in a suit get a low hit that had him reeling. Both Amy and Draco sneered at the pathetic and weak display. The man rolled off the ottoman he had been sitting on and hit the floor with a dull thud, and the ottoman was replaced by a woman slightly younger, but no less new to dark magic.

When Draco looked up, Amy met his eyes. A small grin came over her face and she started to walk towards him, only to be stopped by the dealer sitting in the chair. It looked like she and the dealer had a bit of an ongoing fling.

It seemed she had made her point perfectly clear and she ripped her arm out of his grip before strolling over to him. Draco let a lazy smile curl over his features. "Trouble in paradise?" he asked, his voice dropping. Amy had to lean forward to hear him over the music.

"I don't know. I don't think you could make a better deal than the one I've got."

Draco walked backwards into the shadows, Amy following him. He pulled up his thin sleeves on his shirt and inwardly grinned when her eyes widened upon seeing his dark mark.

"Still think I won't be better?" She reached out to touch the mark, but he stopped her hand, making her look up into his eyes. "Ah, ah. Not yet. You can look but not touch. I'm very particular about who I keep in my company."

Amy's eyes narrowed and a calculating look came over her face. "Why should I have to pursue you so hard then? Haven't you noticed that you're not the only one with a bit of power here? Did you think your pretty face was enough to get you in and keep you here?" She gestured to the place where the Dark Mark had been hidden on his arm. "You're not the only one who plays around with shadows."

Draco wrapped an arm around Amy's back and pulled her closer. "Hmm, that may be, but I can tell you I'm _very_ good at it. How else have I managed to stay undetected? Surely a Death Eater's magical signature is on record?" His eyebrow went up and she grinned. "I can be very sneaky when I want to be."

They were moving to the beat of the music. Draco leaned his head on hers and rode the waves of dark magic pulsing around them. He had come for a reason, but it didn't mean he couldn't enjoy himself.

"So what brings you to L.A.," Amy asked, looking up at him through dark eyelashes. One of her arms curled around his hips and the others attached itself to his neck, her fingers making designs on his neck.

"Looking for you," he whispered. _Smart girl_, he thought when Amy immediately took a step back out of his arms. "We have mutual friends," Draco said with a grin. "I'm working on a project, and there's a problem. A problem only you can solve."

Amy took another step back. Her eyes hardened and he felt her call up some magic. She was on the defensive, and a strong, dark witch like Amy wasn't a good thing to face when you didn't want to be noticed. "I don't think any mutual friends we have are interested in my good health."

Draco grinned. "I don't think Rack was interested in anyone's health but his."

Amy immediately relaxed and let the magic flow out of her. Her eyes lit up and Draco knew he had her in his grasp again. "You knew Rack?" she asked, her voice betraying her instant intrigue. "He trusted you?"

Wrapping an arm around Amy's waist again, Draco pulled her close. She gasped and took in a deep breath when her hand connected with his arm. He let her dig her nails into the dark mark as she touched his power.

"I did know him," he replied, and then smirked. "And he did trust me."

Draco leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Which is why I'm one of the reasons he's dead. No where to run when the mighty dark witch came to suck out his power, kind of like the way I'm going to suck out _your _power. "

Amy's eyes shot open before everything went black.

……………………

When Amy awoke, she was in an unfamiliar room on an unfamiliar bed. She knew there was another presence in the room with her, but when she tried to move, she realized her hands and feet were restrained. Looking up, her breath caught in her throat when she saw the figure standing at the foot of the bed, his arms crossed, and a blank look on his face.

"So kind of you to join us in the land of the living. Surely the backlash of my power didn't overload you _that_ much," Draco said with a condescending grin as he knelt down on the bed. "You couldn't handle it? How cute."

"What do you want?" she asked harshly.

Draco stood with a bored look. "Don't bother threatening. There's a dampener on the room. I'd be surprised if you could raise a quill." He walked up to the head of the bed. "Do you know who I am?"

"Death Eater," she hissed lowly. "And the one that ran with Rack. He talked about you, you know. The traitor Malfoy." Draco snickered and rolled up both his sleeves, reveling in the incredulous stare at both his arms, and consequently, marks. "Impossible," she whispered.

"Actually it's not. It's called spying. Pretending to be someone, but being another person. Just like you." He leaned down and glared at her, his steel eyes boring into hers. "You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?"

Amy lurched back as far as her bindings would let her. "Get away from me!" she gasped, making Draco roll his eyes.

"Remember how I mentioned a project? I'll give you three guesses to what it is, and the first two don't count. I call it 'Project Willow'," he said, not pausing to let her guess. Draco started to walk around the room casually, not looking at the surroundings or at Amy. He was just talking. "She was brought back from the brink, but her aura has shifted. It's grown too much, and her magic was frayed almost beyond saving. I used to think that Rack had no idea what he was doing to her, transferring magic like that. It nearly killed her, and it's still causing her pain."

"Is she crying?" Amy asked with an innocent expression on her face, one that still gave away her true intentions—to find out if Willow was in agony. "Does it hurt to know what she did? Every time she uses her magic, she can feel the evil, still, can't she? Isn't it delicious?"

Draco had made his way slowly back to the head of the bed and smirked down at Amy. "Didn't you listen? I said her magic was frayed _almost _beyond saving. I'm a Sealer."

Amy shook her head and shifted again on the bed. Her fists were clenched so tight they were white. "You lie. Sealers don't exist anymore."

"I'm standing right here, aren't I?" Draco said with a laugh. "And guess what? Since Willow disposed of Rack, you're the only one who can help me help her."

He saw the realization in her eyes. "No," she said softly in horror.

"You're going to remove that block and break the binding tunnel on her magic," Draco said harshly, noticing her quickened breath.

"No! I didn't do it! I didn't put it there!" she shrieked, struggling in earnest against her chains.

"But you were there when they _were_ put in place. So guess what?" Draco asked harshly as leaned down closely to her face. Amy's eyes widened and she tried to shrink into the mattress. "We're going to play a little game. It's called 'See if the evil witch can finish channeling a Sealer's power before she dies'. Want to play? How about a bit of a preview?"

Then all Amy knew was pain.

……………..

Hours later, they were standing by a shady alley crawling with people shrouded in dark and dirty clothing, shooting them equally dark and dirty looks. No one came close, and Amy didn't know if it was because she looked slightly hysterical from the long question and torture session she'd gone through earlier or because the man whose iron grip was digging into her arm had such a severe expression on his face.

It would only take a little noise, a little breath, to give away her predicament. She could get a few words out and someone would help her. They would know he had done unspeakable things to her, made her scream in pain until she thought her throat would bleed, all without lifting a finger towards her.

Those thoughts only worked when she was imagining a better scenario. She was delusional with pain already, and as if he knew her thoughts, the hand around her arm tightened so much she winced uncontrollably.

In the club, his touch had soothed her and ignited a fire in her at the same time. His darkness called out like a beacon and she had been helpless. His looks didn't help either, because it was hard to find a decent dark magic dealer who wasn't disfigured in some way. When the magic turned on a user, one of the first things to go was the physical appearance. Dark magic was known for completely disfiguring the users. Amy had no idea how he had escaped.

This man who held her captive was an enigma. Death Eater, light spy, Sealer, and she could feel the cold swimming under his skin. She had never felt that before, but had heard the tales from a German man, a regular of Rack's.

Everyone knew what Dementors were. They were the boogeymen of the magical world. Be too bad and they'd suck out your soul. The German had talked about a new dark curse—one to turn a human into a Dementor. Rumors circulated that this curse was the source of Dementors in the first place, but no one dared to try it out. Something everyone also knew was how fickle Dementors were. If there was no leader, they would Kiss anyone in their path. They would suck out the happiness of anyone near them. Their soul would be lost forever, and their body's warmth would never return.

The German had described Dementors in detail, but one thing stuck out to her. They were so _cold_.

Just like Draco Malfoy's hand on her arm. It was summer in Southern California and the heat was radiating off the pavement, despite the early hour. His hand should not have been like ice.

Amy couldn't help shivering. The action caused Draco to look at her with hate-filled eyes, before quickly turning back to the empty street.

"You're cold. Your anger should be full of heat, and yet I could almost swear I can see your breath when you breathe," she said, half in awe and half in contempt.

"You know very well dark wizards' temperature fluctuate according to our moods."

Amy huffed in irritation and tried to move her arm, but she couldn't budge. "You're like ice. I swear my skin is going to turn blue any second!" Encouraged when there was a pause and he didn't reply to her, she continued. "No one will come near us, but everyone can feel the heat from your dark magic, and yet there is a freeze under your skin. If you were anyone else, they'd be crawling over me to get to you. I don't understand."

She glared at him, and leaned her back against the wall they were near. His grasp didn't loosen at all. They had been standing for a long time, Amy didn't know what they were waiting for, but her legs were tired.

It was still too quiet, and she was still too cold.

"Why is it so important to fix her, anyway? She's tasted it. She'll always want it. Do you really have that much confidence in her self-control? Do you think she won't sink her wicked claws into you once she feels your power?" Amy scoffed. "Do you have that much confidence in _your_ self-control?"

Again, Draco looked at her with loathing before looking away.

"Do you really have that much _doubt_ in it? I haven't killed you yet, have I?"

She didn't know what frightened her more—the knowledge that he was perfectly serious or that he sounded disappointed that he _hadn't_ killed her yet.

Before she could think more on it, Draco lurched away from the wall and pulled her across the street. She was surprised when they reached a payphone, and realized the reason they had been waiting—someone had been using it before them.

"You have change in your pocket and you know the number of the Summers' residence in Sunnydale. Call it. Now."

Amy hated this. She hated being controlled like this, without even the barest flicker of dark magic to encourage her. Risking a glance, she saw Draco's face was closed off, and he was clearly impatient. Grabbing the quarters from her pocket, she put them in the slot and slowly pushed the metal buttons on the payphone, calling Sunnydale.

Before she could put the received to her ear, Draco ripped it from her grasp with his right hand. His left, which was still clenched around her upper arm slid down to her wrist and he squeezed until she was sure the bones would break, but she understood the warning. Silence. No talking, no noises.

She couldn't hear the conversation from the other end, but she knew whoever had picked up had to be confused.

"—no Willow, I won't. Get everyone out of the house except yourself and Buffy. Yes, even Giles." Draco paused, clearly angered at the response he was getting. "Willow, I don't care! I will be there in a few hours, and I want no one besides you and Summers there, understood?"

When he slammed the received down on the hook, Amy winced, but Draco quickly started to pull her down the sidewalk.

"And just how are we getting to Sunnydale? I doubt you have the correct currency," Amy said with a small sneer. Draco didn't take the bait.

"We're Apparating. Same way I got here."

Her expression changed to confusion. "If we're teleporting, then why are we waiting hours?"

The breath was forced from her lungs when she was slammed against the wooden siding of a small shop that had seen better days in downtown Los Angeles. Amy felt splinters cutting into her skin through her thin shirt. She gritted her teeth in pain.

"Because I'm not nearly done with you. Not yet."

Amy made up her mind. She was definitely more terrified at the thought that someday soon, Draco Malfoy would kill her. And she was also sure he would make it _hurt_.


	6. Chapter 6

Author note: Another Wednesday, another chapter. I nearly forgot (horror of horrors) but a nifty alarm on my phone reminded me! This is the chipper chapter six. And that was sarcasm. This chapter expands on the dark themes introduced in chapter five, and I have to say it's probably one of the darkest chapters in the whole fic.

Again, I'm using creative license to twist the magic in my little world to fit my needs. This is the only chapter it's really mentioned, so for those of you who sweat the small things, don't have a heart attack.

As usual, reviews, comments, and questions are welcomed. I try to respond to every review (on it's harder because I can't remember who I've responded to) and answer every question that doesn't spoil the end of the fic.

With November coming up, fanfiction will be put on the back burner. I participate in NaNoWriMo and I'm the co-ML of my region so I have a few more responsibilities than dishing out a 50,000 word novel in a month. That means I will not be working on the possible sequel that I don't know if I'm even going to do. It's still a big if.

Last, but most certainly not least, dedicated to my lovely beta Jacy. This chapter, along with chapter five, was an absolute mess when she got them. She helped straighten out the kinks and encourage me through the dark parts. You're lovely and I owe you like no other.

……………….

Willow did exactly what Draco told her—get everyone out of the house except her and Buffy—but she had no idea what was going on. When Giles asked, all she could say was that Draco sounded absolutely furious. She left out what happened before he left, and Giles didn't ask. Dawn did, though, and was quickly silenced by Buffy and sent out the door to stay with Xander.

The house was quiet now; the only noises came from Willow nervously drying dishes and putting them away. She laid out the silverware meticulously on the island, fiddling with each piece until it sat perfectly in a row. Buffy let her work in silence, occasionally glancing outside to the backyard.

Draco had been gone for nearly twenty-four hours, which was something new. He hadn't left the house since he arrived, not even when he was invited along on patrol. The excuse was he didn't want to leave Willow, but he had left her quickly yesterday. It made both Buffy and Willow anxious.

"What do you think made him so angry?" Buffy asked, her head in her palm. She was leaning on the island, watching Willow putter around nervously.

"I don't know," Willow replied, her voice more high-pitched and she started to clean the silverware harder and faster. "Who knows what's running through his mind?"

Buffy's eyebrow went up. "Willow," she said warningly. She was about to attempt to get Willow to open up, but her friend caved before Buffy could open her mouth.

"Okay! Draco said there was something stopping my magic from healing, and that it had to do with Amy, and then he found _something_ and then he just left." One of the forks she had in her hand dropped and tears started to form in Willow's eyes. "He said he was going hunting. But what was he hunting?"

A loud pop sounded from the backyard and Buffy was off of the stool and at the doorway in a heartbeat. Her hazel eyes widened at the sight. Willow quickly dropped the dishes into the sink and rushed behind Buffy to see Draco's return.

Her jaw dropped. Now they knew what, or more accurately, _who _Draco had been hunting.

Draco was dragging a bleeding and bruised Amy Madison by the arm. His face was clearly showing his disgust. Amy said something, too low for them to hear, but Draco whipped around and said something back, also in a low voice. It made Amy's face close off and she gritted her teeth as she was yanked forward again.

Buffy was the first to speak. She could hear Willow taking in deep breaths beside her.

"What do you think you are doing?"

Draco just became more irritated and dragged Amy up the wooden stairs. He brushed past them with Amy in tow, forcing her onto a stool. When he removed his hand, she hissed and pulled it towards her. All along her arms were dark handprints.

He glared at her and pointed in her face. "Don't. Move." Turning to the two women still frozen by the door in shock, his expression didn't let up. "Stay there. I'll be back." He disappeared with a loud crack, one that made everyone in the kitchen wince.

Buffy quickly walked over to her and grabbed Amy's arm, causing her to grimace in pain, then glare at the Slayer. Buffy returned the glare.

"I want to look at them and see if you need any medical attention."

The laugh that came out of Amy's mouth was void of humor as she looked down at the bruises mottling her arms. "They aren't normal bruises. Don't bother. Your little first aid kit won't do any good against these."

Buffy touched one and immediately pulled back. The handprints were like ice on Amy's skin. The witch laughed again, and pulled in towards herself. Buffy just looked at Amy, horrified.

"What did he do to you?"

Willow came up behind Buffy and looked at Amy with sorrow. "This is because of me isn't it? It's because—"

"It's because you didn't have the decency to become consumed with your magic! I was out of town after I heard you killed Rack. I fully expected you to rise, but instead you turned your back on your magic," Amy hissed, making Willow take a step back. She was shaking her head 'no'.

"What I was doing was wrong, Amy. I know that now."

"You know nothing," she scoffed. "We were born to use magic, and you were on the path to use dark magic. You haven't embraced it." Amy stood and narrowed her eyes. "I can help with that."

Buffy suddenly stood in front of Willow, her stance defensive.

"Like hell you will."

Amy scoffed. "Oh really? And what are you going to do about it, Slayer? You won't be able to touch me when you've been thrown across the room."

Buffy started to make a move towards Amy, whose grin turned sinister. She bowed her head and started chanting. Willow's eyes widened as she heard the words, and she tried to grab Buffy's arm before the chant was finished.

There was no need. With a sudden crack, Draco was in the room and his hand slammed against Amy's bowed head, forcing it into the island with a thud. She winced and put her palms on the hard surface to push away, but his hand was stronger.

"I thought I told you not to move?" he asked in a calm, cold voice. He clenched the hand on her head slightly and Amy screamed. Willow immediately scrambled away and her back hit the refrigerator. Buffy tried to rush forward but she was magically stopped in her tracks. When she looked up, Draco's eyes were glaring at her, and they were turning a darker grey the longer Amy screamed; they were gradually turning black.

Buffy's jaw dropped in shock. "What are you doing?" she asked harshly, not flinching at Draco's glare. Amy stopped screaming, and Buffy found she could move again. Amy was taking deep, gasping breaths. When Draco smiled down at her, Buffy tried to remember that this was a human and he hadn't killed anyone. Yet. She took another step. "I asked you what are you doing? Can't you see you're seriously hurting her?"

"Your concern is touching and not needed," Draco replied. Buffy nearly flinched at Draco's icy cold tone. This was not the same person she had welcomed in her home a few weeks ago. This wasn't the carefree, funny Draco who was helping her best friend. This was someone new. And different.

It made Buffy take a step back.

Willow looked at the situation with confused eyes. She was still pressing herself against the refrigerator. "Why are you doing this? I… I don't know why she's here."

"Or why you're trying to kill her," Buffy injected.

Draco let go of Amy's head, and she reared back. In her hand was a knife that had been laid out to dry. She immediately tried to stab Draco, but his hand caught hers and squeezed until he heard bones snap. With a sharp cry, she let go of the knife, but her cry was short lived when he forced her into the wall across from the island.

He leaned towards her face and hissed, "If you move, I will gladly take a glass dagger to your neck."

Buffy heard Willow's sharp intake of breath and spun to face her, noticing her now pale face and horrified expression. "What—"

She was interrupted by Draco. "I want both of you in the basement this instant."

Both he and Amy were gone with a crack, and Buffy's face was a thundercloud. "Willow, what is going on? Who is this? That… thing, he's evil. This is not the Draco who has been around here."

The witch slowly sat on a stool and looked at the knife that had been in Amy's hand, and nearly in Draco's heart.

"It is," she replied in a dull tone. "He just never showed this side. And please," Willow said quickly before Buffy could interrupt, "I don't want to tell how I know. It's not my story to tell."

A muffled thump came from the basement. Buffy looked down with a sigh. Something was going on and she had no idea what it was. "What did he mean when he said that stuff about the glass dagger? It freaked you out, didn't it? I saw Amy's face when he said it, too."

Willow twisted her hands in nervousness. "It's complicated if you don't know true facts about magic, but the basics are that's a serious threat to magic users. He basically said he'd gladly take her life's blood unwillingly from her. It's called life's blood because, well, it's where humans receive their life. Our food and water pass through our throats, and our air, too. One twist of the neck and we die. It really is life's blood. The glass dagger is the purest thing there is in magic. To say he'd take her life's blood with a glass dagger—it meant he'd take her blood for evil, and she'd be powerless to stop it."

Her face was pale, her mouth was in a thin line. Still, Willow refused to look Buffy in the eye. "You have to understand that dark magic isn't evil magic. Evil magic, true evil, is rare. Life's blood taken forcefully is only used in evil magic. End of the world, 'burning from the inside' evil. For someone with magic, even a heavy dark magic user, to have that happen, it's…"

Her voice trailed off and a tear slid slowly down her cheek. "It's a one-way ticket to the worst hell you could imagine. Because even though you'd be dead, your spirit would know eternal torment, and would be tortured over it."

Buffy had remained impossibly still during Willow's explanation. The threat had rolled off his tongue moments earlier without pause. It was familiar to him. Draco had done nothing but help them, even though he'd been a huge pain in her ass, and Giles trusted him enough to bring him into her home. She just wondered if Giles was aware of Draco's dark side.

"Why would he say that? Why would he consider doing it?"

Willow shrugged, clearly holding back more tears. "I don't know. I don't know why he's doing this, but he's doing this because of me." She looked up at Buffy, her eyes shining. "I don't know what I've done!"

Buffy pulled Willow into a tight embrace, which was returned as she sobbed. Thoughts were zooming through her head as Willow's frame shook. Buffy knew she needed to seriously reevaluate the situation with Draco. She'd have to ask Xander to keep Dawn, because she didn't come back from the grave to have a madman try to kill her little sister again.

Willow sat there, being held until she caught her breath and pulled back. Neither of them noticed that the door to the basement had been opened and Draco was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, staring at them.

"Buffy, I need to speak with Willow. Madison is bound and gagged, but I'd still like for you to watch her."

The slayer kept an arm around Willow's still-shaking shoulders and stood slightly at a defensive stance. She had battled many evil magic users before, and she would do it again. This time it would just be harder. "Not until you tell me why you're throwing Amy into walls and threatening to kill her."

"It's not a threat," he said with a wicked grin. "It's a promise."

All the air left her lungs as if someone had thrown her against a wall. The look on his face was one she had stared down on many a vampire. It was one that promised pain. It terrified her to see it on Draco's normally peaceful face. "Damn it, what are you doing? Who are you?" she shouted, walking towards him. "And why the hell are you doing this? Can't you see it's upsetting Willow?"

Draco shoved off the wall and met the small woman halfway. His eyes didn't stray from her face, even when Buffy pointed at Willow during her outburst.

"It's because of her I'm doing this!"

"You don't have to kill anyone!" Buffy said, trying to plead with him.

"Yes, I do!" Draco shouted, making Willow jump. She got off the stool and came over to where Draco and Buffy were staring nearly toe to toe. They didn't notice her.

"Why? You're not an executioner." The Slayer's hands clenched into fists as she asked the question. "You don't have the right to decide who lives or dies."

That caused Draco to scoff and give Buffy a condescending grin. "I'm not an executioner? I do believe you forgot to tack on 'like me' at the end. Just because you were chosen doesn't mean the rest of us don't have our own jobs to do, and this one is mine." He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.

"Look, there's darkness in me, and sometimes it escapes. I pushed myself too far last night, and I'm sorry, but there's only one way to battle with her, and that's fighting fire with fire."

This time, when he stared at Buffy, his eyes had lightened. The gleam almost reminded her of Angel's when he had gained his soul back. It was animalistic and dangerous, but she could see he was keeping it under control. With narrowed eyes, Buffy stepped back and relaxed a bit, clearly disagreeing.

"Fine. Do what you want, but do it away from here. I refuse to hold someone down while you send them to their early graves."

He laughed, making Buffy stop at the harsh sound. "It's either you hold down Madison as she dies, or you'll be doing the same for Willow in a few months. You don't have a choice."

"What?" Willow whispered in horror, the first time she'd spoken since he had arrived back in the room. "What do you mean? I'll, I'll die?"

Draco's glance wasn't as cold as the one he had been sending to the other woman. "You can feel it, can't you? Every time you use your magic, it burns you. It has since you went to Rack. It's called an _incendia substrictus._ It's a fire tunnel on your magic. The more magic you use, the more it will constrict and burn, until your magic literally burns you from the inside out."

Buffy caught Willow as she lost her footing in shock and maneuvered her to a stool at the island.

"With as much power as you have, your magic will gain a mind of its own if you don't use it, it will kill you, regardless if you never cast a spell again."

Willow couldn't wrap her mind around that knowledge. She was going to die because of her magic, even if she never used it ever again. A part of her was going to destroy the rest.

She'd made such a good start on getting her magic to talk to her. She was able to cast small spells without worrying about whether or not she'd try to end the world again. The newness of using magic in an innocent sense was a refreshing change. It lightened the darkness in her, and Willow was really getting better. Hearing that the same magic that helped heal a cut or helped a flower bloom would burn her until death nearly destroyed her. Tears poured over her cheeks as that reality sunk in.

"W-w-why?" she stuttered, her whole body shaking in shock.

"Rack did it as blackmail. If you ever got too out of control, he'd tell you and threaten to tighten it. Only problem is, you absorbed so much power that the _incendia substrictus _didn't have a chance to grow, and you killed him before he had a chance to control you. It's still there, and technically, he's the only one who can get rid of it."

Buffy tried to hold Willow still so she wouldn't shake herself off the chair. With a slightly less cold stare, she questioned him. "Why do you need Amy if Rack is the only one who can get rid of it?"

Crossing his arms, Draco sighed. "Because Amy was there when it was in place, and she knew what he was doing." Willow's head shot up and her eyes widened. "You had no idea what Rack was doing when he took his little tour, did you? He didn't just poke around; he left a present."

Before Willow could truly comprehend what he meant, Buffy interrupted the terse silence. "So Amy—"

"I can use her memory of the time when it happened to find the _incendia substrictus_ and channel my magic through her to destroy it."

Again, Willow quickly looked up at him. "That's what you meant when you said you promised to kill her. No one could survive that much power going through them. The magical backlash will kill her."

That made Draco angry, and the air around them chilled. His light eyes started to darken again. Buffy's grip tightened on Willow's shoulders, ready to bolt if things got too out of hand again.

"It's either your life or hers, Willow! Make up your damned mind so I can stop wasting my time arguing with you! Either one of you will die, or both of you. I may be the executioner, but you're the judge."

Willow collapsed in on herself, shaking her head. Taking a life reminded her of the person she was when she killed Warren. There was no way she was going to go back to being that person. "I can't do that. You can't ask me to do that. I can't condemn her!"

"She did it to you," Draco said coldly.

The kitchen was once again quiet, except for Willow's sobs. Buffy broke the silence when she leaned down to hug Willow. She could clearly see how this was affecting her friend, but sometimes they had to choose the lesser of the two evils. She pulled herself together and made the tough decision for her friend.

"I nearly lost you once, Willow. Please don't play the martyr here. I'd rather have you alive and healthy than in pain and dying." Almost immediately, Willow broke down and started to cry heavily. Buffy pulled her up into a tight hug.

"You can do this, Willow. Please. I… I don't know if I could live without you. Dawn couldn't, and neither could Giles. Think of Xander, Will. What would he do without you? He nearly gave up his life to save you from yourself. Don't you think you could return the favor?"

Her tears came on stronger, but instead of shaking her head, she was nodding now. Satisfied, Draco walked back towards the door leading down to the basement.

"Get yourselves composed and come down here as soon as you can."

He went down the stairs and closed the door, leaving Buffy and Willow in the kitchen. Slowly, Willow untangled herself from the hug and wiped her face on her sleeve, trying to put on a brave face. Buffy squeezed her hand, and they walked towards the basement door.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's note: Okay, so here it is. I promised Jacy I would do this, and I am.

This, ladies and gents, is the chapter that completely changed the entire fic. ENTIRE thing—the whole enchilada. Not because of a big plot point or anything, well, sorta, but because Jacy took one look at it and made me commit shipper homicide. (Yes, homicide. Don't give me that look. I'll capslock you!)

As I said before, I didn't write this fic in chronological order. The last chapter completely finished was an even tie between sixteen and eighteen. The ending chapter, twenty, has been done for a year. I started writing what became chapters one through three, and then eleven through fourteen. All through it, I was determined this would be a Draco/Pansy fic. I declared it. In my head, the D/P would rule. Jacy was along with the ride until this dreaded chapter seven.

What I wrote as a scene that was supposed to be filled with camaraderie and an understanding of each other's hard lives was turned into scene that became much deeper. And you know what, Jacy first mentioned the possibility of Draco/Buffy in August of last year. I still have the chat. I even told her I wouldn't change it. Four months later, Jacy requested a Draco/Buffy fic for Christmas. Then my brain started working. I sent Jacy an email riddled with capslocks cries for help, which she did not listen to. From then on, I re-wrote the fic to become Draco/Buffy.

And as a payback for giving me the idea, I tortured her with the UST. Mwahahaha.

So this is what I put to you, dear readers: does the scene between Draco and Buffy scream connection? I didn't change a thing from the time it went from D/P to D/B. It's just as I wrote it.

Thank you for all the reviews. I love how people are asking questions and getting involved. I think I lost some readers with the dark!Draco aspect, but oh well. I still have you lovely people to keep me going! This is the longest chapter of the fic, I believe, topping at over 5,500 words. A lot of explanations are zipping by. Hope you all like it!

And even though she made my eye twitch by turning this fic on its head, love to Jacy as well.

……………………………

She was in pain, but her eyes were drawn to the unseeing ones across from her. Even as her lungs burned as she took in oxygen, it was background to the pain she felt when Willow saw Amy's body on the floor. Her skin was pale and clammy, and there were clumps of hair near her head where she had gripped her scalp and pulled before Draco restrained her arms more properly.

A tear escaped her eye and slowly made its way down her cheek. Halfway down to her jaw, it evaporated with a sizzle. Willow went to wipe away the tear track, but found there was none. A cool hand on her forehead made her close her eyes in bliss. She was so hot.

"She's too hot, Draco. What's wrong with her?"

He looked up where Buffy was worriedly looking between Willow and him. Draco was standing over Amy's nearly-still body, counting the shallow breaths she took and noting the times in between where her fingers and toes would twitch randomly.

"It's the remnants of the curse. Run a cold bath upstairs and I'll bring her up shortly. I still need to do one more thing." Draco stepped over Amy's body and Buffy swallowed, her teeth clenching when she stared at the near lifeless body on the ground. All she could think about were his eyes when he had held Amy down and smiled when she screamed.

"You're not—"

He shook his head. "She's not dead, so I'm not going to waste my energy. I'll deal with her later. Now please run the bath."

Clearly reluctant to leave Willow, she nodded and headed up the stairs, pausing at the top to send her friend a sorrowful glance.

Once the door closed, Draco stared into Willow's eyes. "This is going to sting a bit. It'll help prepare your body for the cold bath upstairs. We can't let your temperature stay so high." Without waiting for a response, he cast a cooling charm in the air around them, and Willow shivered. Draco pulled her into his arms and she whimpered at his stinging touch.

"Hurts," she gasped, pushing against Draco's chest but she was too weak.

"And if we didn't do this, you would have a heart attack when you got into the bath Buffy's running. Endure this for just a moment and then we can go upstairs. Just breathe through it."

The basement was filled with Willow's heaving breaths and occasional gasps of pain, but after a moment, Draco's touch didn't sting against her own skin. He Apparated them upstairs into the bathroom. Buffy was sitting on the edge of the bath testing the water. When Willow and Draco suddenly appeared in the small space, she lurched back and only her reflexes saved her from falling into the bath.

Buffy glared at Draco, who was grinning at her in amusement. "If I had fallen in, you would be in pain."

"Oh relax," he scoffed, moving Willow to lean against the vanity. "I could have dried you off in a second."

Buffy was immediately at Willow's side. She pushed some hair off of her forehead, and smiled when Willow looked at her. The blonde couldn't believe the difference in Draco now that Willow was safe. She knew he was drained, and that he had to be in pain because he was wincing every once in a while. Willow had told her in the basement this was dangerous for Draco as well, but at the time Buffy thought he was just trying to be cruel to Amy. Now that she was watching him, tired and almost swaying on his feet, a bit of her anger disappeared.

"Help her with the bath; she's a little weak. She's also very tired, so I suspect she'll want to go to sleep as soon as she's at her normal body temperature." Draco started to leave the bathroom, but Buffy's hand caught his wrist. He turned back.

"Thank you," Buffy whispered, her face open and honest.

Draco nodded and left the bathroom. The door closed with a soft click, and he quickly made his way down the stairs. When he stopped at the bottom, he glanced up, making sure he wasn't being followed. After straining a bit, he heard splashing water and strode over to the fireplace, pulling a small, green pouch from his back pocket. He dipped his fingers inside, and threw the powder into the fireplace, and spoke clearly, but softly.

"Office of Andromeda Tonks."

…………………………..

Willow _had_ been exhausted, and she had nearly fallen asleep in the cold bath twice. Once she was dried off, Buffy grabbed the thermometer from the first aid kit under the sink. Her temperature had dropped to near normal, and she was led into her room and put to bed. Buffy grinned when Willow started to lightly snore before her head even hit the pillow. She covered her up lightly and turned on the fan, still making sure she was cool. It started up and a cool breeze flowed through the room. As she left the room, Buffy slowly made her way down the stairs.

It had been a completely different Draco she had spoken to today. This man was cold and harsh, not caring about Amy's life, and almost unnecessarily cruel. True, Amy hadn't died and Willow was safe now, but the pain Amy had been in must have been terrible. Draco used magic to silence her screams after the first few minutes, but Buffy didn't think she'd ever forget that face of absolute pain and terror—eyes clenched tight and mouth open in a silent scream. Her body had arched and her hands locked into claws, and she had even started to go after her eyes and scalp before Draco chained her wrists to the ground. It was an image Buffy never wanted to see again. He'd insisted that she be unbound for the beginning of the ceremony, but part of her only thought Draco wanted to see Amy squirm in pain.

At the bottom of the stairs, she turned left and walked through the dining room and kitchen. She was about to go back down to the basement, but saw Draco lying on the ground outside. At first, she was terrified that something had happened and he had collapsed, but as she started to briskly walk out the back, she saw him breathing. His face was turned up to the sun and he moved languidly on the grass. Slowly, so as not to disturb him, she walked outside and down the steps to the lawn.

"What are you doing?" she asked softly.

Draco took a few more breaths, his eyes still closed. "I don't like heating charms. They only warm the skin. There's something about the sun that warms the entire body. I'm also fairly tired. Fixing that mess and then Apparating all over the place is tiring." He opened his eyes, squinting against the bright light before closing them again and throwing his arm over his forehead. "Is she asleep?"

Buffy sat down and crossed her legs, staring down at him. "Yes. She was out before I even got her in the bed." There was a somewhat uneasy pause. "What's going to happen to Amy? Is she still in the basement?"

It was so surreal talking like this, she decided. For a moment, she sounded like she was part of a serial killer ring, and they had bodies stashed down in the basement. The conversation was almost too casual, and she felt stuck in a bad horror movie.

"Yes. I've secured her down there, not that she's going anywhere, and she'll be picked up later this afternoon," Draco replied. Buffy was envious because he sounded so indifferent and uncaring, as if this entire ordeal didn't affect him at all.

"Who? What's going to happen to her?"

Draco moved his arm and turned his head to face her, his eyes opening. "My aunt and cousin. Both work in the Ministry of Magic and are willing to help smuggle Amy into the country, and take her to a healing facility. I seriously doubt she will ever be anything resembling normal, which means there won't be too many questions. She'll be comfortable for the rest of her life."

For some reason, his plan did little reassure her, but all she could do nod and accept it.

"Do you have a problem with me now?" Draco asked bluntly. It shocked Buffy, but it was such a difficult question to answer that he couldn't reply quickly enough. "Because if you do, I don't give a shit, but out of respect, I'll leave. I can relocate and Willow can come to me, or if worse comes to worse, I'll sneak her into Britain. What I'm doing is helping, though, and I refuse to stop. I can't help the way I was raised. I can't help that I had dark magic forced into me. All I can do is try to make it bearable."

Buffy leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees and putting her face in her hands. She took a few deep breaths and pushed the hair out of her face. "And I think that's the only reason I'm semi-okay with all of this. Some part of me can see that you're helping her." She sat back and sighed, looking anywhere but Draco's face. "I meant what I said, about not knowing a world without Willow. You're keeping her grounded for me. So thank you."

Her voice became hard and she glared at him. "But if you ever pull anything like that again, I will kill you myself." She wasn't expecting Draco to grin lazily at her.

"Promises, promises."

Draco sat up slowly, stretching his back. He rubbed his arms, still shivering a bit. Buffy reached out and touched his arm, brow furrowed at his still slightly-cold skin. Feeling it sparked a memory.

"Those bruises on Amy; they weren't normal bruises. You were cold, and I'm not talking about your attitude. I'll accept you helping her, but having you surprise and… hell, I'll be honest, scare me like that? I can't accept that. I want explanations."

To her surprise, Draco nodded. "I expected it after today. Willow knows a bit about me and my past, but not all of it. Let me get some tea and I'll rejoin you."

Buffy stood with him. "I think there's some vegetable soup left over from dinner last night in the fridge. I'll heat it for you."

He nodded his head in thanks and followed her inside. Buffy went to the refrigerator and pulled out a large ceramic bowl covered in aluminum foil and grabbed two small bowls, filling each with a bit of the soup. She put both in the microwave and turned it on, leaning against the counter. Draco had pulled out his tea service that he kept in the kitchen.

Everyone always teased him about how picky he was over his tea. Giles was the only one who didn't complain because he always grabbed a cup while he was over, which often led to a glaring match over the tea kettle. He waved his wand at the cup he had laid out, and water mysteriously poured into the cup and started to steam.

The microwave beeped and Buffy pulled the hot bowls out. When she turned around, Draco had conjured a tray and put his steeping tea on it, along with a glass of water and silverware. Buffy placed the two bowls on the floating tray. It started to float out in front of them, and she shook her head, still unnerved by the random floating objects she'd find in the house these days.

They took a seat on the patio furniture and Draco again lounged in his chair. He quickly stood, took off his shirt and sat back down, tilting his head back towards the sun with a sigh.

Buffy couldn't help but stare at his pale skin that was riddled with scars. "Wow. And I thought my body was a painful canvas," she joked.

"Well you have the advantage of quick, natural healing," Draco said with a smirk. "The people who gave me these scars were only interested in keeping me alive when they healed me, not making sure I was still pretty."

"They? People did this to you?" The more she looked at the scars, the more confused she became. With the exception of a long, thin scar that ran along his right collarbone, none of the other scars looked like they wouldn't be caused by any torture instruments she had ever seen.

"The people I betrayed years ago did this. They had to play with me first before they killed me. I was a spy in the Death Eater ranks, and when they found out, they weren't happy, to say the least."

Draco took a sip of tea, and Buffy swore she saw steam come off his throat when he swallowed. She shook her head and drank her water.

"I've never seen scars like those. Are they…"

"Magical?" Draco finished as Buffy nodded. "They are. A lot of witches and wizards think that Death Eaters often participate in Muggle torture, but they're wrong. Why whip someone when you can make their blood boil or every bone in their body shatter? And that last one is a bitch, by the way. Not very pleasant."

Buffy shook her head, which wouldn't wrap around the fact that he had just admitted to having every bone in his body shattered. "Magical torture certainly doesn't sound like a walk in the park. Is that the reason you're always so cold?"

Draco shook his head. "Not really. A Death Eater who was charged with killing me screwed it up, and I was cursed. It's called the Dementor Curse. Dementors are dark beings that are the worst type of magical creature. They consume positive energy and they can destroy any feeling of warmth or happiness a person can have. And when they kiss you, they suck out your soul. The Dementor's Kiss is the death sentence of the Wizarding world."

Just hearing the description made Buffy shiver. "You were turned into one of these things?"

"No, but Aunt Bella certainly tried."

"Your aunt?" Buffy asked sharply.

Draco looked over at her and laughed quietly. "I forgot you weren't in the room for this explanation. Your sister and Willow knows this. My aunt, my mother's sister that is, was one of the Dark Lord's most valued followers. She and my father were his most trusted servants, along with one other—my godfather and mentor who helped me turn spy. His cover was blown before mine, but against his wishes, I stayed to keep information flowing to the Order of the Phoenix, the counter group of the Death Eaters."

He lifted his right arm, the one that displayed the phoenix and wand tattoo.

"Pissed the lot of them off, as you can imagine. To this day, I still don't know how they found out I was the spy. There were whispers of others getting information out, but I was always kept in the dark about it, both for my safety and theirs. It doesn't matter now," he said with a sigh. The trees swayed with a slight breeze and Draco shivered. It knocked him out of his daydreaming and he continued.

"I had been told that there was a raid by my father. I was expected to go and help shoot down survivors who might run. It was my normal job. He owled me with the coordinates. It was a smaller clearing than the normal meeting place, and that clued me into something being very different—as did my father tossing me to the ground with a lovely sneer on his face."

Buffy was cradling the cup of tea to her chest, ignoring the burn from the heat. Their bowls of soup lay forgotten on the tray, still steaming.

"I don't remember a lot of what he said. My mind was trying to go through different escape scenarios, but I was helpless. Father grabbed my wand, and I had no other means of protection. No one knew where I was, or that I was supposed to go out with the Death Eaters. I thought I was going to die."

She finished off the tea and slowly put the cup down. "It's not that much fun. Promise."

Draco smirked at her and also finished his tea, grabbing the small bowl of soup and starting to slowly eat it. He didn't blow on it like Buffy, instead relishing in the heat. She noticed that his skin was starting to look more _alive_ and not deathly white like it had been.

"Anyway, I did hear a few words. Mostly about how they knew it was me, and that I would no longer supply information like a good little spy. Instead, I'd stick close and do the bidding of my father, my aunt, and Voldemort only. I thought they were going to i_Crucio/i_ me until I screamed myself hoarse and collar me somehow. That I could handle. All collars can be broken, but instead my aunt stepped up and I knew what was going to happen. She's a professional at torture, but not the short kind. She draws it out, makes it hurt on a very deep level. When I saw her come forward, that's when I was truly terrified."

Half the soup was gone, but Buffy still hadn't touched hers; she was too enamored with his story. Draco moved his chair a bit more into the sun because it was setting, and the small movement shocked her out of her staring. She moved her own chair closer to the small wooden table and took a few small bites of soup. It was quiet again, but she didn't want to rush him into the story. She knew from experience he would tell on his own.

About fifteen minutes of silence went by in which they both finished their warm food. With a wave of his wand, Draco sent the cups and bowls back to the kitchen to be cleaned, making Buffy grin. "You're a nifty little maid to have around."

Draco glared at her. "Hold your tongue. I didn't want to get up and put them in the sink, and I also didn't want bugs to come join us." He looked down and rubbed his wrists in thought. "Talk of torture probably isn't the best thing to discuss after we've just eaten, but it's not graphic. I also doubt that anything I say could shock you too much."

"You'd be surprised. Just because I'm a slayer who hunts evil doesn't mean I know every evil thing out there," she replied, pulling her knees up. She laid her feet on the edge of the chair and wrapped her arms around her legs. "But I can still listen."

Again, it was quiet for a while, but eventually Draco nodded and took a deep breath to continue. "I honestly don't remember much. There was too much pain, and I had Aunt Bella continually tearing down my mental shields and trying to rape my mind. I was lucky because my Sealer abilities allowed for my shields to be impenetrable to the harshest barrage of attacks. Of course, that meant she just tried harder and it hurt that much more. They didn't get much information out of me, and that irritated them. Finally, Voldemort called it off, and I lay in the middle of the Death Eaters, bleeding, broken, and nearly out of my mind. The one thing I do remember after that was looking past the gloating Dark Lord to see my father. Everyone thought Lucius Malfoy was a cold bastard who didn't feel anything, but I knew better. I knew he was excellent at Legilemency, a form of mind reading."

Draco continued to look down and pulled one leg up, resting his foot on the edge of the chair. He threw his right arm over his knee and sighed. "I risked everything at this point, and it was completely selfish and stupid of me to do so, but I had to do it."

Buffy looked at him, curious. "Do what?"

"I had to tell him I was sorry." Draco finally turned to look at her. "I opened my mind a bit and let him see how truly sorry I was that things had come to this, but it was what I believed. I also knew that after the long torture session, they weren't going to keep me. With my mind so solid, I was a large liability, and the only way to keep me from going back to the Order was to kill me. So, I looked at my father, told him I loved him and mother, told him I was sorry, and that I would gladly accept my fate." He laughed a bit, without humor. "The look on his face was almost comical, and I would have laughed had the circumstances been different."

"Why do you say that?" Buffy asked.

"Up until that point, he had been so sure that I would be kept alive. When I told him goodbye, he realized they would kill me and it scared the shit out of him. He may have been angry at me, but he still loved me. I don't know what ran through his head after that, but I didn't have time to ask, and I'll never ask him now."

Draco stood and started to walk along the wooden deck. Buffy turned in her seat to watch him. It wasn't nervous pacing, just restless. She noticed he looked almost normal, and he was no longer shivering every time a breeze blew through. His hands clenched into fists periodically and the muscles in his shoulders tensed randomly.

"Aunt Bella thought the perfect death for me would be one where my body would live, but I would be in eternal torment. I would be cursed to never feel happiness, and anyone who came near me would die. It was genius, and well thought out, but she didn't know that it wouldn't work on me. I do remember looking over at father and he started to walk towards me. Well, I say walk, but at that point everything was in almost in slow motion for me. I saw Aunt Bella stand over me and say the words of the curse, and I remember being so cold, but after that—it's almost like I blacked out, but it wasn't from the pain. Healers who looked at me afterwards say the intense cold stopped my heart and that I died, but there were no bright lights, no tunnels, and no dead relatives. It was just black. Sound familiar?"

A grin flashed across Buffy's face. "Believe it or not, I don't remember anything from either time I was dead. There are some déjà vu moments from the second time, but nothing definitive. Sorry."

She was waved off. "Doesn't matter. I woke up and there were shouts around me. It was clear the curse wasn't going to work, and someone came close to examine me. His name was MacNair, and he was a nasty son of a bitch. He was an executioner, and he enjoyed the light going out of people's eyes more than seeing them writhe in pain. I know that because when I grabbed him, I took a quick look in his mind to see who it was, and right after that, I ripped it to shreds. He fell down next to me, bleeding from his eyes, ears, nose… anything that the blood could get through. He was dead. The brain literally ruptured under my attack, and he bled into his skull."

Draco flexed his fingers and Buffy followed the small movement. She could see that the tips were still too white, and that they much have still been too cold. Figuring he must have been trying to get feeling in them, she held her own hands up. "Mine are still hot from the tea and soup. Can you sit still long enough?"

He grinned at her and walked back to his seat. "My toes are also still freezing. Hands and feet are always the last things to warm up."

His large hands were soon being rubbed Buffy's smaller, but warmer, ones. They both kicked off their shoes and she put her feet on top of his. "Thanks," he said softly, giving her a small smile, which she returned.

"Anyway, I was still too weak from all the other torture, and that attack had cost me my last strength. I had no idea what would happen to me now. I remember hearing Voldemort order my father to restrain me somehow while they figured out what to do. He was sure I wouldn't kill my own father, and he was right. I looked up and there he was, standing over me with his wand pointed at my heart. I didn't understand the look on his face. There should have been hatred or disgust or something like that, but all I saw was a cold mask. To everyone else, they wouldn't be able to read it, but I knew. He was i_calculating/i_," Draco said with a smirk. "It was the look that he gave people when he was trying to work out if they were worth a gamble. And I was. Next thing I knew, he reached down, grabbed my arm, and I was side-along apparated to Malfoy Manor. As soon as we got there, he locked down the wards, but the surprise was nearly every Order member was there."

Buffy stopped rubbing his hands and looked at him with an inquisitive glance. "How did they know?"

"Pansy. She's a Seer, and she saw what happened to me, and my father's defection. They were waiting there for me so they could be there before he closed the wards. My mother let them in. They brought healers and they started healing me while the rest took my father in for questioning. He told them everything he knew about Voldemort—where he was, where he had been, what his goals were. The information he knew was invaluable. It was so much more than I knew, but now they had it."

Draco pulled away from Buffy. "But it took them a while to figure out what happened to me. The Sealer nature conflicts with the Dementor curse. When I get angry, things around me freeze. It's a result of the absence of my positive thoughts. Sometimes it's a bitch to control it, but I can. It can be a burden, but it can also mask my dark magic, and my magical signature. It took years to develop the self-control to master that, but it's paid off. That's how I was able to slip out of England without anyone knowing. They can't monitor me like they could a normal witch or wizard."

"Well aren't you just so special," she teased. Draco chuckled and they both stood. He grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head. They walked back inside and Buffy laughed at the dishes washing themselves. "Yes, you really are very special. Are you sure you can't have them permanently wash themselves?"

He shook his head. "If I did that, they'd wash themselves when you were eating. Soap isn't the best thing for a diet. Of course, you Americans eat the weirdest things."

Buffy snorted. "This from the guy on the side of the pond that also eats snails."

Draco laughed as he sat at the island, followed by Buffy. "Oh is that so? I am British, thank you very much, not French. We're not even on the same land mass."

She just shrugged. "Doesn't matter. You're still closer."

The phone rang, interrupting their laughter and light conversation. Buffy stood and reached for the phone. After spinning to lean against the counter, she answered.

"Hello? Hey Giles… no, everything's fine. Willow's upstairs asleep and I'm sitting in the kitchen with Draco… no, because I honestly have no idea. You'll have to ask Draco. I don't—no, I don't know when you can come back." She looked at Draco, who mouthed 'tomorrow morning'. "Draco says tomorrow morning." Buffy huffed. "Giles, I don't know i_why/i_ it has to be tomorrow, okay? I'll talk to you then. Bye."

When she hung up, she slammed the received down. "He's so pushy."

Draco hid his grin with his hand. "It's because he knows what happens to me when I get angry. He was probably worried that something had happened. I'm honestly surprised he agreed to go."

"He trusts you, that's why," Buffy said, returning to her seat. "You know he wouldn't have even considered you to help Willow if he didn't."

"I know," he agreed. "He trusts me to help both you and Willow, and he trusted me when he told me about Dawn. When he came back to England, all he could talk about was how much he missed all of you, He kept wondering if he did the right thing, leaving you in Sunnydale. And when Pansy saw what happened to Tara and what would happen to Willow…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "He was heartbroken. My mother had to bind him to a chair, because he was ready to rush off to help. After he was made to see reason, that's when we came up with the plan to send him off with some of our magic."

Buffy interrupted him. "Does she have all of these people's magic in her? Are they going to get it back?"

"A lot of the magic she doesn't have anymore. Even for her, holding all of that power was too much, and she forced most of it back into the earth when she performed spells, or when she tried to raise that temple. She only kept a small portion of it, from a select few people. Each person didn't give much, but combined it was a lot."

The blonde slayer leaned onto the island, pondering this. She and Dawn had heard what happened from Giles and Xander after they had subdued Willow. Giles said that the coven's powers and emotions had overcome Willow, and she had wanted to help the world by ridding it of the pain it felt. A memory was sparked. She turned to Draco.

"When you first showed up, you said that you had given some of your magic, but not much, because it would have pushed her to the dark. You were talking about your dark magic and your Dementor thing, weren't you?"

Draco nodded. "Too much of my magic would have pushed the positive thoughts away from her, and then we'd be burning corpses and not sitting here in your kitchen. I had to be careful. But, my dark magic is also part of what she kept. Willow isolated it and kept it for herself, realizing that it was unique. Part of my magic will always stay with her, because magic adapts to its surroundings, but I'll get some of it back in the future."

He looked up at the ceiling. "She's about to be awake. I'm still amazed at how quickly her magic re-energizes itself. You can go see her if you'd like." Buffy smiled and quickly made her way to the stairs, where she stopped. "Say thank you," Draco said with a laugh, "and I'll freeze your hair."

She made a face at him and headed up the stairs, her footsteps becoming quieter and quieter. Draco stared out the window and sighed. Even though he was no longer cold, he was still very tired. If it weren't for his aunt and cousin coming, he would have collapsed in a bed and slept for days. The temptation for a quick nap was too great, however, and he laid his head on his crossed arms on the island. As soon as his eyes closed, they snapped open when he heard a loud pop from the backyard. A grin came over his face as he stood and walked to the back door. When he saw the two figures, his grin widened.

"Hello Tonks, Aunt Andi."


	8. Chapter 8

Author's note: This is the first chapter to go out in November, which is a big month for me. I'm the co-ML for my region during NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month for those of you not in the know. You write a 50,000 words novel in 30 days. This monster is just 70,000 words and it took me three years to write. You might ask how I can do NaNo. I've done it the past five years, and I've won every year. What I've written is crap, and I put a lot of thought into this. I urge anyone who wants to give it a go, to seriously go for it. It's a lot of fun. I met some of my closest friends through NaNo, and I'm part of a writing group that's been meeting every week for two years.

*ahem* So, that was a shameless plug. Onto the fanfic!

This is a pretty light chapter compared to the last three. It ends on a humorous note, and this light tone stays for a couple of chapters. For those wanting to see Harry and Pansy, they will come in chapter 11. You'll just have to wait until then. You have a bit of Tonks to hold you over until then.

Thanks for the feedback and comments, and as usual, Jacy gets lots of love. *haggles*

…………………………….

Buffy slowly opened the door of the master bedroom and smiled when she saw Willow beginning to stir. It was like Draco had a strange sixth sense, able to tell him when people were waking up. Maybe it was his magic, or the remnants of his curse, but it was nice. When the witch turned over and opened her eyes groggily, she looked dazed.

"Hey you. Feeling better? You had us a bit worried."

Willow took a few deep breaths. "I feel fine. I don't remember much."

The slayer walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. She reached over and swept some red hair out of Willow's face and put her hand on her forehead. "Well, you aren't running a fever anymore. Draco said that the magical burn, or whatever it was, was making your temperature rise. We had to give you a cold bath, and you were really tired. Magical exhaustion, I guess. You haven't been out long, though. Draco and I have just been outside talking."

Willow slowly sat up. She was still a bit sluggish, and didn't remember much, but she did remember the screams. She couldn't remember if the screams had been because they were caused by physical or magical pain. It was painful for her, but only because she felt like she had been burning from the inside out. After hearing what Buffy had said, it sounded like it was true, though, and she was glad it was in the past. "What did you and Draco talk about?"

"Him," she replied. "About his past. About why he acted the way he did. About the reason he was so cold to touch when he brought Amy in—the curse that was put on him."

"Amy," Willow said dully. She could remember the screams, and remember how completely horrified she was when she actually i_felt/i_ Amy's intentions when she took Willow to Rack. After feeling that and seeing the planning the two had done, she almost didn't feel as bad about making her suffer so much. "Is she dead?"

Buffy's mouth smoothed into a line and she shook her head. "No, but she's as good as. Her mind was shattered, or so Draco said."

She didn't like knowing exactly what Draco meant when he talked about the magic, or what Willow was going through, but she would just learn to deal with it. "Someone will be coming soon to pick her up and take her to a facility in England."

Willow took a deep breath and closed her eyes in pain. Even though Amy had wished her dead, Willow would never be able to wish that upon her. If she deserved a second chance, then everyone did. It really hurt her that Amy wouldn't get it now.

Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she focused inward. She was going to take a mental inventory of her magical and physical state when her stomach growled loudly. Blushing, she started to get out of bed. "It seems food is a vital part of the recovery process." She looked at Buffy with a small embarrassed smile. "Help me down the stairs?"

Buffy nodded and offered her arm as Willow scooted to the end of the bed and put her feet on the floor. When she stood, she seemed surprised.

"I'm stronger than I thought. I thought I'd be really weak."

The blonde helped Willow walk slowly out of the bedroom and to the top of the stairs. She always had a hand on Willow's arm, ready to catch her if she fell. "Remember that Draco told you because you had just a high magical core right now that you'd heal quicker? He said it would be normal for you right now."

Willow was about to respond when she heard a set of voices talking that she didn't recognize. When one started laughing, her eyebrows shot up. There were three voices, and two were female. She turned her head to look at Buffy, but she just shrugged and started to head down the stairs by herself. Willow grabbed the railings, but made it down just fine. At the bottom, she joined Buffy and together, they made their way to the kitchen.

Draco was outside with two women. The first was slightly taller than Draco, with black hair that was coiled up into an elaborate twist on her head. Her eyes were also dark color, but her coloring was somewhat pale with a light rose color on her high cheek bones. She was standing tall and had a small smirk on her lips.

The woman next to her was talking quickly and gesturing with her hands wildly. Her hair was cut into short spikes and was dyed bright bubblegum pink. She was younger, closer to Draco's age, but she looked more like the other woman. She said something to Draco, who laughed, and the other woman rolled her eyes. Draco motioned towards the house, and they both nodded.

When they moved, Buffy and Willow got a better look at their clothing. While the older woman appeared to be wearing some sort of robe over a dress, the younger one was wearing a mismatch of different fabrics for pants, a shirt, and a long duster. Her boots made dull 'thuds' on the wooden deck. Draco looked up and grinned when he saw Willow and Buffy standing in the kitchen.

"Hello there. Buffy, Willow, I'd like you to meet my Aunt Andromeda and her daughter Nymphadora. Tonks, Aunt Andi, this is Buffy and Willow."

Tonks glared at Draco and her hair quickly faded to dark red. "Even in introductions, cousin. One day you're going to wake up swimming with the giant squid at Hogwarts." Draco just laughed and went to stand by Buffy while Tonks' hair went back to pink. She walked up to Buffy and Willow and stuck out her hand. "Wotcher. Call me Tonks."

Buffy looked at Tonks' hair curiously. "How did you—"

"Do that?" Tonks finished, and at Buffy's nod, she grinned. "I'm a Metamorphagus. I can change my appearance at will. Rare find, but a lot of fun."

The grin was contagious, and both Willow and Buffy were smiling along with her. Willow's smile dimmed when Draco's aunt stepped up.

"Willow and Buffy, it is a pleasure to meet you both. Draco's told me a bit about both of you. I hate that we had to meet under such dismal circumstances, but we're meeting nonetheless."

Willow nodded sadly. "You're here for Amy then?"

Draco's aunt nodded in reply, her eyes conveying understanding. Willow quickly dropped her gaze to the wooden deck, and Buffy grabbed her hand and squeezed. She was grateful for the comfort and let Buffy's strength carry her through the sadness.

Sensing the change in tone, Tonks nudged her cousin. "Where is she?" Draco just motioned them forward and led them to the basement.

Willow teared up when she slowly descended down the steps and saw Amy's body secured to the small mattress. The witch's eyes were staring blankly at the ceiling. The lack of recognition in her eyes made Willow shiver. They were completely void of life.

Draco put his hand on Willow's shoulder and squeezed gently, sensing the trouble she was having with the sight. She had been so out of it after the tunnel on her magic was removed she hadn't paid any attention to Amy.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Tonks immediately walked over. "Cor, cousin. You really did a number on her, didn't you?"

"You try breaking an i_incendia substrictus/i_ through a third party and see how well you do."

Tonks immediately took a step back and hissed. "What?"

Buffy was surprised at the amount of venom in the young woman's voice when she had been so genial the moment before. She hadn't understood the gravity of what Amy had done to her friend, even though the tense moments in the kitchen when Amy had been brought here were a good indication.

"That was very dangerous for you, Draco. Your mother would be sorely put out with you if you died trying to heal that." Andromeda slowly walked towards Amy. "Severe brain damage, I take it? She's twitching like Mr. Carmichael was when you used him for a buffer between you and Dolohov."

Draco snorted as he went to stand by his cousin, nudging the mattress Amy's body was on with his foot. "Carmichael should have done a lot more than twitch—"

Willow jumped out of her mournful stupor when Tonks put her hands over her ears and backed away from Draco and her mother. "I can't hear this! I'm not listening!"

He rolled his eyes. "Aunt Bella may have been quite insane, but at least she was a thorough teacher when it came to Occlumency. Will you relax? No one's going to go poking about in your brain. Why would they even want to?"

"Hey!" Tonks shouted, her hands still on either side of her head. Her mother rolled her eyes and turned to Buffy and Willow.

"Blacks are notorious at keeping what they want a secret a secret. I only wish that had been passed along. Instead of an iron fortress for a mind, my daughter can make a pig's snout grow on her face."

Tonks took her hands off of her ears and glared at her mother while Draco snickered. He left them to discuss what to do about Amy and focused on Buffy and Willow. Both were standing near the foot of the stairs and watching the newest arrivals.

"Believe it or not, they're the sanest side of the Black family."

Buffy laughed. "Wow. And I thought our little family of friends was crazy."

Draco snorted. "I mentioned Aunt Bella, right?" He made a circular motion by temple. "That was one of the craziest people I've ever met. Slightly brilliant when it came to mind torture, but crazy."

Andromeda walked over to the small group. "I'm curious, Draco, why you didn't kill this young woman. It certainly would have made this whole situation easier to deal with, and there would be less chance of getting caught."

He sighed as he looked at the twitching body Tonks was leaning over, glaring at them.

"I can't hear this!" she said, covering her ears again. "You all talk about fortress for a mind, well I don't have the luxury! Stop talking about killing people where I can hear you!"

"Tonks, will you shut up? You know we won't get caught. If we did, do you really think that Fudge will charge us with anything?" His cousin huffed and went back to casting spells on Amy while he turned back to his aunt. "And I tried."

Buffy's eyebrows shot up in shock and Willow gasped, her eyes going wide. "You what?"

"You heard her, Willow," Draco replied heatedly, gesturing to Andromeda. "We wouldn't be i_worrying/i_ about a body if I had succeeded. She's as good as dead anyway, but you just couldn't leave it alone!"

The red head stood completely still, her face showing confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean your magic stopped mine from killing her. I did everything I was supposed to do to reverse the dark magic on yours, but I came up against an iron wall when I tried to finish her," Draco explained. "Your magic literally stopped mine from getting any closer to Amy than I had to."

Tonks sat back and let out a low whistle. "That's impressive."

Buffy looked over at Draco's cousin. "Why do you say that? And why would Willow's magic save Amy when it went after Rack and the rest of the world?"

Before Tonks could respond, Draco whirled around with a glare. "Could we possibly hurry this up a bit? The more time you're both here, the more I'm worried you'll be detected. Even though I can talk my way out of this, I'd rather not have to."

"Ease up, Cousin," she replied with a grin. "Kingsley knows I'm visiting you, and that Mum was coming for a short visit as well. Of course, that means I'll have to stay a few days, but you don't mind, do you?"

Draco smirked. "Giles is going to love this."

Tonks returned his smirk and motioned to Amy's body. "She's ready to go back. Are you sure you can handle the trip by yourself?" she asked her mother, who glared at her. "Fine! I was just making sure. I don't want you to collapse in your office from the strain of carrying and masking the body!"

Andromeda just shook her head and walked over to Amy, securing a small silver hoop around her wrist. "I had a special portkey made specifically for masking the magical signature. Do not worry." She walked over to Draco and he kissed her cheek. "I'll send your mother your love. Be safe." With a final touch to his shoulder, she made her way back to Amy and leaned down, tapping her wand to the silver bracelet and whispering the activation charm on the portkey. Both were gone without a sound, much to Buffy and Willow's surprise.

Tonks turned to Draco with a grin. "So! I'm dead tired. Where can I crash?"

Draco looked to Buffy. "Think she could stay in Dawn's bed? It'll be easier than transfiguring the couch. We're both dreadful at it."

The slayer nodded and smiled. "I guess you don't want dinner then? Since it's probably really late in England."

"Four in the bloody awful morning. I can finally catch up on some much needed sleep, too. Can someone point me in the direction?" Tonks yawned and stretched, blinking blearily. Buffy motioned her up the stairs.

"I'll show you and get you oriented. Will you be okay?" she asked Willow, who nodded with a small smile. Gesturing up the stairs, Buffy followed Tonks and the basement door closed after them, leaving Willow and Draco alone in the basement. The witch looked to Draco, her smile disappearing.

"I really kept you from killing Amy?"

Draco nodded. "You did. I was irritated, and I would have pushed it, but I didn't know how that would affect your magic, so I let it go. She's being taken to a facility in England that will take care of her. She won't hurt anyone ever again."

Willow sighed, remembering Draco's insistence that it wouldn't be a problem if she had just let Amy die, but part of her refused to let another human die if she could help it. "I hate being such a bother."

"You're not a bother," Draco insisted. "You were pushed into stressful situations that you needed help out of. You've excelled so far in your healing it's amazing. No more negative thoughts. You're doing too well for that."

His reassurances calmed Willow, and together they walked up the basement stairs to the kitchen. Tonks was looking through the refrigerator and Buffy was putting up the silverware and dishes that had been left out earlier.

"You are not going to come here and eat all of the food," Draco said with a glare. Tonks just stuck out her tongue at him.

"You know that I get a bit hungry in the early morning." Draco rolled his eyes. Tonks pulled out some juice and levitated a glass in front of her, pouring the juice. Draco caught the glass just in time when she went to put the juice back into the refrigerator. Tonks just ruffled his hair and accepted the glass. As she took a seat in between him and Willow at the island, she looked to Buffy and Willow. "So, which one of you is the one with the shattered aura?"

Buffy glared at Draco, crossing her arms. He held up his hands with an innocent expression. "She's just going to help! I'm not going around blabbing it or anything. She has aura eyes."

"She has ore eyes? What the hell is that?" Buffy asked.

Tonks snorted. "Aura. As in your aura that's broken? Part of the joys of being a Metamorphagus. I once met an old Seer who told me the trick about how to change the specifics of my eyes to match that of what a Seer could. With a little twist, I can see auras. Draco wants me to make sure what he originally thought he found was right."

Willow leaned forward when Tonks closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, Willow jumped back, her jaw dropping. Tonks' eyes were now creamy white. But though she expected Draco's cousin to turn into the Seer stereotype and groan in a strange voice, she was the complete opposite. Tonks propped her chin on her palm and looked Buffy as though she was a piece of art on the wall.

"I see what you mean. It's like shattered glass in there. What you i_do/i _need to do is get those old auras out of there. I don't know why her body decided to create a third one though." She turned to Draco and before he could answer, she whistled low. "Whoa, cousin. Someone went off the deep end earlier, didn't they?"

Buffy and Willow exchanged a look. Tonks' voice had changed from light-hearted to slightly cold.

"Bugger off," Draco replied firmly and started to make a cup of tea. "Her body made a new one because the spell Willow used to bring her back was designed around someone whose soul had been sent to another magical dimension. Auras don't tend to survive the trip." He looked up and huffed when he noticed Tonks still glaring at him. "Will you lay off? I'm not a kid. I know how to handle myself."

"I worry about you," she snapped before turning her eyes back to bright amber. "So does mum and Aunt Cissa."

"Stop it, would you? I'm fine. Nothing happened, obviously. Now, you were complaining about being so tired earlier, so go to sleep!"

Tonks grinned and leaned back. "Easy, cousin. Just saying. Now, about little Miss Back-From-the-Dead…"

"Twice," Buffy added. Tonks blinked and stared at her strangely.

"Twice. Do you have a plan for getting rid of the auras and fixing the new one?"

Draco stopped drinking his tea and observed Buffy. She crossed her arms, a bit unnerved with the intense staring. "I think I do. I'll have to do a bit more research. It'll be hard to make a connection strong enough to do all that at once though."

Tonks' grin became a bit sinister. "Why don't you get to shagging already then? Don't bodily fluids help you connect to auras easier or something? At least snog her or something."

Draco started to choke on his tea. Buffy backed up away from him. "Whoa. No way am I making out with him, let alone having sex with him. Buffy plus blonde British men don't mix."

"At least this one is breathing," Willow said, only to shrink under Buffy's glare because of the strange looks Draco and Tonks were giving her.

"Where the hell did you hear that?" Draco asked Tonks, after switching his glare from Buffy to Tonks. She just shrugged with a grin on her face.

"Pansy. She said it made her tingly." Tonks turned to Buffy as she grabbed an apple from the fruit display on the sideboard behind the island. "Just don't break my cousin. He's delicate." As she took a large bite out of the apple, she waved and headed into the dining room. Her footsteps could be heard going up the stairs.

It was quiet in the kitchen. Draco was burying his face in his hands, while Buffy and Willow tried to look anywhere but at him. Finally, Willow broke the silence.

"Sex isn't part of my healing, is it? Because you're pretty and all, but I like girls."

Draco removed his hands and glared at her.


	9. Chapter 9

Author note: Okay, wow. Apparently a lot of people like Tonks and Draco together, and they like the snark. This chapter is absolutely full of it. It also ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger, but not as big as chapter ten's. *cue evil laughter* Anyway, thanks for all the wonderful feedback.

I ialmost/i forgot to post this chapter, which would have been bad considering there would be absolutely no time to do it when I wake up (so not a morning person) and work has all the sites I post this beauty to blocked (damn web filter—I NEED MY LJ). Ergo, you would have had to wait until around 8 pm central time, and wouldn't that have sucked? Luckily, I remembered just as I was putting on my headphones as I was climbing into bed.

My head has been wrapped around NaNoWriMo for the past week, which paid off as I'm just over 30,000 words. I went on a retreat with my local writing group I've been a part of for the past two years, and we stayed at a cabin in the middle of nowhere (and I'm in Arkansas—when I say nowhere, I imean/i nowhere) and just wrote. Also nearly shot some poor dude (again—in Arkansas, of course I own a gun, and doesn't that image terrify some of you?) that came around our place at midnight who decided our little cabin looked like the campground office before realizing that the crazy writer women inside were inot/i to be screwed with, but that's a whole 'nother story. Enjoy this one instead!

This chapter is light, and there is some Draco/Buffy innuendo going on, but not as big as chapter ten's. *cue evil laughter… again* So you have a lot to look forward to next week… including your first glimpse at Pansy and Harry. That's right! They finally show up. Needless to say, you all will love and hate chapter ten with a passion, just like my lovely beta Jacy. *loves hardcore*

But this is chapter nine, and I hope you all like it. Feedback feeds the soul, and it puts a smile on my face. Also, questions are appreciated because that lets me know if I have gaps in the story. Again, this was three years in the making, and a lot of stuff didn't go down on paper that I had in my head. I may have left out plot information that I thought I wrote in. If I haven't responded, let me know.

Sequel information: *gasp* What is this? A sequel? Yes, there is a sequel. Good news? It'll be done in seven months. Bad news? You won't be able to see it until seven months from now. I'm doing it for the Draco Big Bang, which you can read about at .com . The rules state that I can't post it publically until June 26th, so that's the earliest you'll see it. But it's coming! I was pondering not even bothering, but it is coming! So yay for that.

I've rambled enough. Onto the story!

…………………..

The house was quiet since it was early morning. Tonks had gotten up earlier than anyone else since she was hours ahead of everyone. She was clad in only boxer shorts and a t-shirt, and was rummaging around the kitchen for something to make breakfast with. Everyone would be up soon, and she was entertaining the idea of making breakfast for her new hosts.

The front door opened and Tonks heard voices coming from the front. She peeked around the door facing the dining room and grinned when she saw who had come in.

Xander turned from his conversation with Giles and stared confused at the head in the kitchen. "Giles, are there any pink haired demons that we know of?"

Giles looked up and his eyes widened. "Oh, bloody hell."

"Giles!" Tonks shouted as she ran towards him and gave him a big hug. The Watcher "oomphed" from the force. "How are you, old man?" she asked as she pulled back and smiled at him.

Dawn peeked between Giles and Xander and stared at the person standing in her dining room. "Who're you and what are you doing in my house?"

Giles removed his glasses and started cleaning them on the edge of his sleeve. "This is Nymphadora Tonks. God help us all, because she's Draco's cousin."

"You look nothing like Draco," Dawn said with her eyebrow raised. She crossed her arms and looked at Tonks critically. "So how're you two cousins?"

"Our mothers are sisters," Tonks replied with a grin. She scrunched her face and her pink hair was gone, replaced with short, black hair and a pale, heart-shaped face. Her mother wished she would always keep her original face, but Tonks preferred the crazy styles instead. "I can change my appearance at will, so we don't always look related."

"Don't always act like it either, with one of us running around falling over herself all the time," Draco said lazily as he came down the stairs. He pecked Tonks on the temple before continuing on to the kitchen. "You didn't try to make breakfast did you? I'd hate for you to burn the place down!"

Tonks' hair went from black to red as she narrowed her eyes and Draco. "Oi! That was once, you little ponce! And it was all Kingsley's fault." She crossed her arms and pouted. "And Moody's. i_And/i_ yours!"

Draco turned just enough so she could see him rolls his eyes. "I wasn't even in the kitchen. I was outside. Don't try to pin it on me. I didn't know it was possible to burn water." Before he could get very far into the kitchen, Giles cleared his throat. Draco stopped and let out a sigh. "Let me guess; you'd like to speak to me in private?"

With a pinched smile, Giles gestured to Draco for him to follow him. Tonks nudged him as he passed her.

"Someone's in i_trouble/i_," she said in a sing-song voice.

Draco spun around and pointed at her, glaring. "After this, we're going out back to settle this. Your arse is mine!"

"Ew. Incest much?" Dawn said with a grimace that quickly disappeared at Draco's dark look.

"She's joining us now," Giles said calmly. The cousins both glared at him. "I'm going to see just how angry you were yesterday."

Tonks started laughing. "Now you're i_really/i_ in trouble."

"Is that really necessary?" Draco said angrily. "Giles, I am not a child who needs reprimanding. You're not my father."

"If he was, he'd be cheering you on right now instead of getting on to you," Tonks said as she stood next to Draco before turning to Giles. "I looked last night right after. He's fine now, Rupert. You know I'd tell if he wasn't."

"I'm right here, you know," he snapped before turning around and marching into the kitchen.

Tonks and Giles gave each other a look before following him into the kitchen. He was slamming cabinet doors and putting down plates so hard they were on the border of cracking.

Xander and Dawn just looked between the British guests. "I'm so lost," Dawn whispered. "Why is Draco in trouble?"

"_Draco_ is in trouble because he saved the day and fixed the problem!" the wizard snapped, still getting out silverware and plates. When he was finished, he looked around and sighed, putting his head down on the island counter. "Merlin, I need a house-elf."

Tonks snickered and walked over to Draco before giving him a hug. Her cousin straightened and glared at her, but allowed the hug. "Correction--you need Harry."

"Same thing."

Tonks smacked his arm and smiled at Giles. "He's fine, see?"

"If it's all the same, I want the details," Giles replied gesturing to the backyard.

Draco sighed and made his way out the back door with the Watcher following. As soon as the door was closed, Dawn rushed over and put her ear against the door.

"Don't bother," Tonks said, getting some eggs from the refrigerator. "Draco will have warded it so you can't hear anything or see anything. Now, does either one of you know how to make a good brekkie?"

Xander stepped forward and cracked his knuckles. "Let the Xan-Man through. Breakfast will be ready shortly. And unlike what would happen if Dawnie cooked, it will be edible"

"Hey!"

………………………

Draco had his arms crossed and made sure his back was to Giles. "I hate it when you do that-when you question me in front of everyone. I get enough of that from the rest of the Wizarding world. I don't need it from someone I thought trusts me."

"I do trust you Draco," Giles said, walking up to the young man. "That is why I continually question what you do not for my sake, but for yours. As long as you trust yourself, then I trust you."

"Your trust feels a bloody awful lot like doubt."

After a brief pause, Giles cleared his throat. "So, what happened yesterday?"

Draco sighed. "I found out that Rack put an i_incendia substrictus/i_ on Willow's magic. I tracked down Amy to take it off."

Giles put his hand on Draco's shoulder and forcefully turned him around. Draco smirked at Giles. "Sure you still trust me?"

"What did you do?"

"I took it off."

"Damn it, Draco!" Giles shouted and shook Draco's shoulder. "What happened to her?"

He kept on smirking until he thought Giles was going to attack him to make him speak. "Aunt Andi came to fetch her and take her to the facility in England. That's why Tonks is here, to cover for her mum legally. She can say they were visiting." Draco matched Giles' stare. "I didn't kill her. I know that's what you want to ask."

"It is," Giles reluctantly agreed. "What changed your mind?"

"Nothing changed my mind. I even considered finishing her off after Buffy and Willow went upstairs but I knew that would raise more questions than I care to answer. I flooed Aunt Andi and she arrived last night to pick her up." Draco sighed and looked away. "Willow's magic stopped my own from killing her in the process. It's a sign she's come such a very long way, that her magic would react with her emotions and thoughts without her having to manipulate it to, but I wish it had been for something else."

Giles stared off into the backyard. Willow was making incredible strides in her magical communication, and this was something that very few people could do—have their magic so in-tune with them that the magic does their will without even being asked. She was returning to her former self.

"Very well. Did it take you long to locate Amy?"

Draco shook his head and started to walk back towards the deck. As far as he was concerned, the question and answer time was officially over. "She was in Los Angeles. It was easy to track her there, but it took me a bit to find what hotspot she was in."

Giles looked at him curiously. "So what took so long if you left almost forty-eight hours ago?"

The question stopped Draco in his tracks. He froze and didn't turn around. There was no way he could work around this, and there were some things that Giles just couldn't know. As far as he was concerned, the don't ask-don't tell rule was still in effect between Giles and himself.

There had been hours in between when he found Amy and when he'd called to get everyone out of the house. There were more hours in between that phone call and when he actually arrived.

He was saved when Buffy came out the back door. Her eyebrow rose at his 'caught in the headlights' look.

"Something going on?"

Giles coughed lightly. "I'm just trying to figure out what Draco was doing once he located Amy. He hasn't been very forthcoming with the details."

Buffy took one look at Draco's worried face and knew she'd have to revert to some training she hadn't had to use since high school. She was going to have to lie to her Watcher and hope he didn't notice.

"It's my fault. Right after you guys left and he showed up with Amy, I demanded an interrogation session with her. It took a while. I didn't get anything useful, before you ask."

Buffy came down the steps to stand shoulder to shoulder with Draco.

"Thank you," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth before turning around to face Giles.

"Well, that's cleared up then," Giles said after a long moment of staring between Draco and Buffy. "Let's have a good breakfast and then we can get everyone caught up on the past few days."

Buffy snorted. "You can skip breakfast. Dawn's adding stuff while Xander isn't looking."

"I think my stomach would kill me if I ate anything she made," Draco replied, making a face.

……………………

Draco and Buffy avoided Giles for the rest of the evening, claiming they needed to help Willow when he would act like he was going to ask a question. Dawn was completely enraptured with Tonks and insisted she change her hair and face every time she could get a word into Giles and Tonks' conversation on what had been going on back in England. Xander was catching up on some alone time with Willow since he hadn't seen much of his friend.

Buffy was sitting on her bed cleaning some weapons from her trunk when Draco walked in. He leaned against the doorway and watched her polish a sharp machete.

"Are you going patrolling tonight?" he asked.

The slayer jumped and glared at him. "Now who needs to wear the bell?" she asked snidely before putting down the weapon. "Yes, I am. Xander and Giles have done a good job holding down the fort for me since I've been focused on Willow, but I need to get back in the swing of things. Why?"

"I want to come with you. Actually, I want to bring Willow along and I know Tonks will want to join us. I think it's time Willow got out of the house and started being proactive with her magic. With this dark magic no longer restricting her, she'll progress a lot faster. The best way for her to relearn to use it is to i_need/i_ to use it."

"You're going to throw my best friend at vampires to see if she can get in touch with herself? What the hell is wrong with you?" Buffy snapped. She was beginning to doubt Draco's ability with Willow. Anytime healing involved being in mortal peril didn't seem like real healing to her.

"Willow will be protected and I want her to get used to being out again. If she feels the magic and can call on it safely, we'll work on it." Draco fully entered the bedroom and sat down on the bed next to her.

Buffy didn't reply but started to clean the machete again, glaring at him the entire time. Draco always seemed so confident and she just wanted to smack those smirks off of his face.

He smiled at her and lay back on the bed with a sigh, putting his hands behind his head. "No, it's you I'd like to throw at the vampires."

Draco blinked as suddenly Buffy was sitting on his stomach with the machete pressed against his throat. A slow smirk spread across his face and his eyes were hooded. "Do I sense some unresolved tension? Is that why you need to go out and beat things into oblivion?"

The slayer was still glaring at Draco. Her breathing was controlled, but Buffy's heart was racing and she could feel the blood pulsing through her veins. She wasn't about to tell him how true he was. There was no one who could continually push buttons like Draco did, and he could never be baited himself. The man beneath her looked as calm and collected as he had when he had walked into her bedroom unannounced. That also irritated her.

"Are you going to slash my throat or just sit there staring at me all day?"

Buffy made sure to push off of him by putting a hand on his chest and using it as leverage to force all her weight off his body. He grunted and rubbed his hand where her hand had been. That made Buffy grin.

"What time are you leaving tonight?" he asked, sitting up.

"Whenever the hell I feel like it." Draco's annoying grin returned as he stood and started to leave the room. Buffy stopped him with a question. "What did happen yesterday with Amy?"

Draco stopped, just as he did earlier in the morning when Giles had asked the same question.

"Don't ask questions you aren't prepared to hear the answers to."

"To me, the line you walk between good and bad isn't as defined as you'd probably think. I have priorities, and keeping my family safe is the first. You helped keep my family safe. And sometimes I've had to do things I'm not proud of to get what I want. If you don't want to tell me, it's fine."

Draco smiled at her over his shoulder and left the room. Buffy pouted and put down her cleaning supplies. "That was a rhetorical 'if you don't want to tell me', damn it."

………………………

"This isn't a good idea," Willow said, making the other three people in the group groan. Her eyes were darting in between the dark shadows of the cemetery. At every little noise, she would jump. Her hands were gripping Draco's arm tightly.

"Willow, you have been saying that since we left the house. You're fine. Nothing is going to happen. Now let go of my arm before you rip it off or I lose blood circulation."

Willow turned nervously to Draco as she slowly let go. Her hands started to play with the edges of her sleeves. "But something i_is/i_ going to happen. It just is."

Buffy sighed and kicked at a root protruding from the ground. "If that's true, then why haven't we seen any activity in the past hour? Giles told me they've had three to four dustings a night. I mean, I know I'm good, but I'm not so good that they'd run and hide."

Draco snorted and Buffy kicked the root at him. He ducked quickly as it shot past his head and made a large crack in the side of a nearby mausoleum. He hadn't considered that Buffy was truly getting mad at him. Pushing buttons was what he did best and it was oh so fun to see her reactions.

"It's all Draco's fault," Tonks said cheerily as they continued to walk. She had insisted on coming along as well, wanting to see the slayer in action.

Willow made a face. "Really? Or are you just saying that because he's your irritating cousin?"

"Oh no, it's really Draco fault. It's because of the curse Aunt Bella put on him," Tonks replied with a smile. "Vampires can sense the Dementor in him and they won't come near him. It came in handy when You-Know-Who swayed vampires to attack out of the Forbidden Forest once. We just had to make Draco stand on the edge of the grounds and they were too scared to come near."

Draco let out a sigh as Tonks started to laugh. It always made her giggle when she thought about him standing on the edge of the grounds about to piss his pants because he could see the vampires on the edge of the forest. True, they wouldn't come near him, but it wasn't an experience he liked to remember.

"But you said Dementors suck out souls. Vampires don't have souls," Buffy said, confused.

"That just means they're going to go through hell while a Dementor looks for one. It just sees a body that moves and tries to remove a soul that isn't there. It's eternal torture to a vampire." Draco replied. "Also, a Dementor plus a dark wizard can't be good for the undead community. Dark wizards tend to kill people who don't agree with them. Best you keep that in mind."

As the group continued through the cemetery, Buffy scoffed. "Oh please. I think the time spent this afternoon on my bed showed how good my reflexes were."

Draco immediately started laughing and had to lean against a nearby tree to hold himself up. Willow stared at Buffy with an open jaw and Tonks giggled, leaning against Draco.

"That was not how it sounded!" Buffy quickly said, a horrified expression on her face. "That is not what I meant at all!"

"Just because I nearly killed the world with my magic does not mean you can't tell me when you do the horizontal tango!" Willow said. "I want details, but not too graphic because hello, I like the girls, but still! Details!"

Draco was still laughing loudly and eventually had to slide down the tree to sit on the ground. Buffy's face was very red as she glared at Willow.

"He irritated me and I put a very large knife to his neck."

"Kinky," Tonks said kicking Draco's leg. "Does Pansy know that you like knives in bed now?" Draco started to laugh harder, despite Tonks' constantly nagging him.

Buffy pouted and turned to Willow. "Please help me."

The witch immediately shook her head. "Girls, remember? No man parts for Willow."

"Oh Merlin, stop! I can't breathe!" Draco was trying to take deep breaths and calm his laughter. Tonks kept nudging her cousin to get him to stop, but the smile on her face showed she didn't mind much.

"Can we completely ignore this, forget it ever happened and get back to why it's completely quiet?" Buffy growled, starting to pace. They had gone through two cemeteries and there had been no activity. This either meant that what Tonks said was true, or there was something _big_ coming.

Draco, down to chuckles now, stood up with a grin. "I'm afraid as long as vampires can sense the Dementor in me, they'll stay away. There's an easy way to cloak it though." He turned to Willow, whose eyes widened.

"Wait, you want i_me/i_ to cloak you? Are you sure that's a good idea? I could end up putting a permanent blanket on your magic and you'd never be able to access it again!" Willow started to panic. "I can't live with myself if I do that! There won't be enough dough in the world to bake enough cookies for that massive guilt!"

"Well we better make that you don't," he replied, going to sit on a tombstone with a flat surface. Willow started to hyperventilate, and Draco just smirked at her. Her nervousness was amusing, but he knew that she could control her magic and it would do what she wanted. "Willow, you know you can do this. Just take deep breaths, concentrate on the magic, and be gentle with it. Coax it into working with you," Draco said, getting comfortable as he sat.

Tonks and Buffy stood a few feet away watching. "He sounds like he's coaching her on training a poodle," Buffy whispered to Tonks, who giggled. Draco glared over at them but turned back to Willow and closed his eyes.

Willow bit her lip nervously and closed her eyes, doing what Draco told her. She looked within herself and focused on her magic. Communicating with it was getting easier, but sometimes it was still difficult to use it. Slowly, but surely, magic from the earth came up through her and surrounded Draco like she asked it to, blocking his own magic and the Dementor nature within him.

Draco grinned as he opened his eyes. He had felt the warm blanket of magic slowly drifting down upon him.

Buffy looked around. She could still sense the vampires, but she had felt no change.

"Well?" she asked impatiently. "Did it wor--"

She was cut off as a vampire tackled her from the side. The slayer went down with an oomph. As she rolled away and got to her feet, Buffy pulled the stake out of her jacket and took a defensive stance. There was laughing in the background.

"That answer your question?"

Buffy decided she was going to tackle Draco to see if _he_ liked it when she was done for the night. Arrogant bastard.

Draco sat back on the tombstone and watched as Buffy fought the vampire. She was extremely fluid in her motions, and her kicks and punches were perfectly timed for delivering the most damage in the most vulnerable place. He could tell she had done this for many years. As she staked one vampire, another one came up and took the other's place.

Another vampire came from another angle and Tonks immediately started casting different spells to disarm it, but not destroy it. Draco let out a growl.

"Tonks, just kill it will you? Stop playing with the nasty evil dead thing," Draco said drolly. His cousin just grinned excited at him and blasted off a hex that severed the vampire's head, turning it to dust. "Cheater. You're not supposed to know how to do that."

The Auror laughed and tossed her wand in the catching it on the downfall. The effect was ruined when she nearly fell over reaching for it. "I'm a Black, cousin. I know a lot of things I'm not supposed to."

Willow was grinning as she watched the two relatives snip at each other. Buffy had disposed of the vampires that had been circling her but as she turned around to face the group, she froze.

"Draco, look out!"

The wizard grunted as he was grabbed from behind and held against the vampire's chest. "You didn't have to grab i_that/i_ hard you know."

"Shut up!" the vampire hissed, and Draco rolled his eyes.

Tonks aimed her wand at the vampire's direction, but Draco narrowed his eyes at his cousin. "If you fire off one spell, it's going to hit i_me/i _and not i_him/i_. Don't even try it Nymphadora Tonks. Same goes for you Willow. Do nothing."

"Brave talk for a dead man walking."

"How did you know my life story?" Draco asked, and then let out a wheezing laugh when the vampire pulled him closer. "I didn't know you lot liked to snuggle."

"Just shut up!" The vampire started backing up out of the cemetery, using Draco as a body shield.

Draco walked backwards with the vampire, trying not to trip. "Look, if you're trying to get out of not getting a stake to the chest because you have me in front of you, it's not going to work. The slayer likes me just about as much as she likes you."

"Oh screw that," Tonks said, about to march forward but stopped when she couldn't move her feet. Willow and Buffy tried the same thing. Tonks glared at Draco. "Literally gluing us to the spot? Why?"

"I was curious about what it'd feel like before you all mangled this sodding bastard."

At that, the vampire paused. "Well I might as well get a good meal out of the deal."

He barely had time to smirk at Buffy before the vampire sunk its fangs into his neck. Draco winced and moaned a bit. "I was going to negotiate using the wrist because I'd hate to have the marks in full view."

"You are being sucked dry by a vampire and this is all you can say?" Buffy asked a bit hysterically. She was desperately trying to move her feet, but no matter how much strength she used, there was no way she could get to him.

"Sucked? Yes. Sucked dry? No." Draco smirked as the vampire withdrew his fangs and lurched back, choking. "I'm not an idiot. I came prepared."

Draco released the spell on the three women and they all rushed forward to check on him and watch the vampire. Smoke was beginning to come out of the vampire's mouth. Buffy tore the edge of her shirt and pressed the cloth against Draco's bleeding throat.

"What the hell were you thinking?" she demanded, getting a small amount of satisfaction at seeing him wince at the pressure.

"I was thinking I've always wanted to know what it was like to get bitten by a vampire. Not entirely unpleasant, but not something I want to experience again." Draco tried to move back from Buffy's pressing hand. She glared at him before grabbing her stake to finish the job. But as she turned to the vampire, she stopped in shock. The vampire looked like it was finishing off itself.

Willow stared at the vampire, now lying on the ground screaming. "What did you do?"

"Had a little cocktail of holy water and ashwinder eggs before we came."

Tonks immediately started hitting him on the arm while Willow gaped at him. "Are you insane? You could have killed yourself by ingesting that. Ashwinder eggs are extremely dangerous."

"And I was trained by the most prestigious potions master in Europe for my entire life. I know what I was doing. Holy water burns the esophagus and the ashwinder eggs are—"

Draco was interrupted when the vampire suddenly burst into flames. Buffy and Willow lurched back from the flaming corpse. He smirked and finished his sentence. "—extremely flammable."

"That could have been you!" Tonks said, still hitting his arm. She was clearly worried about him. "You're barmy!"

"I'm a Black," he retorted. His cousin just glared at him. "The eggs were completely frozen and then ground into a pulp. I used the Dementor curse to keep them frozen. As soon as the holy water started burning his throat, the dust particles in my blood ignited. I just wanted to see what happened and I didn't think I could get a vampire to volunteer."

"You're so irritating!" Buffy exclaimed loudly before spinning on her heel and storming off. Her mind was flashing to Draco's face when he received the bite and then seeing images of Riley as the vampire bit into his arm. Suddenly, she couldn't breathe and decided that there would be many more vampires that would get the pointy end of her stake. If she stayed one more moment, she was going to lose control and stake Draco. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

Willow stared after her friend, confused. "Buffy, where are you going?"

The slayer didn't even turn around. "I'm going to do my i_job/i_. Go back home! I'll be back later!" With that, she ran further into the cemetery.

Draco just smirked as he watched Buffy stalk off and pressed the ripped portion of her shirt against his neck.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Can it be? Can it ibe/i? Is this the fabled chapter ten where we see some Buffy/Draco action and Harry and Pansy show up?

It is, and if you people would actually read my author notes, you would know that instead of making my eye twitch with asking me. I don't write these things for my own amusement. Just as the people who still review asking me to update soon make me want to slap them down and read the bit that I say I update every Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.

That being said, this is the official half-way point. The fic is halfway done chapter wise, but content wise, well. We're just getting started.

Since next week is Thanksgiving, there is a good chance chapter eleven will be posted Sunday or Monday, or even early Tuesday. Thanksgiving is a big deal to me, mostly because I'm the one who cooks the damn dinner. It takes me about eight to nine hours preparing, and I get up around six am on Thursday to actually put things in the oven. I even take off work on Wednesday to cook. That being said, posting this will not be at the front of my mind. If I forget, I'm sorry. I have beta approval (smooches Jacy) to post the next chapter early, so who knows.

Anyhoo, enjoy chapter ten, and don't hate me too much when you get done reading.

………………………..

Buffy was still seething mad when she slammed the door and headed straight up to her bedroom. Dawn was spending the night at a friend's house, so Tonks was able to bunk in her room again. When she got to the top of the stairs, a figure came out of her mother's old room.

"Willow, you didn't have to wait up for me."

Her friend gave her a sheepish smile. "I didn't. I heard the door slam so I thought it was you. I just wanted to check, you know, in case some big bad decided to sound like an angry slayer coming up the stairs."

Buffy sighed and tried to loosen her muscles. "I hope I didn't wake everyone up. I need to get some clean clothes from my bedroom. You don't think Draco's awake, do you?"

Willow shrugged. "I know he said Tonks sleeps like the dead, so you probably didn't wake her up. Just don't kill him if he is awake."

"I won't." Buffy turned to her room and eyed the closed door. "I'm going to grab my stuff and take a shower. Go back to sleep and I'll be in there when I'm done. Hopefully I won't wake you up when I'm through."

"Trust me, I'll be out like a light, which doesn't make sense because a light is bright." Willow's babble was broken up by a wide yawn. "G'night, Buffy."

The slayer waited until Willow went back into the bedroom before she made her way to her own door. The possibility of a blow-up was high. She took a steadying breath and slowly pushed open the door. The lamp on her bedside table was on, and to her surprise, Draco was sitting on the bed, fully dressed. It looked like he hadn't even pulled down the covers.

"Have you stayed up all night?" Buffy asked incredulously as she closed the door. Not even waiting for an answer, she marched over to her dresser to pull out pajamas she could put on after her shower.

"I have, actually," Draco replied. He didn't move from his spot on the bed, instead settled on watching her move about her room. "I wanted to talk to you."

"I have nothing to say to you." Buffy grabbed a towel from the inside of her closet and started to go back to the hallway. She stopped when Draco laughed.

"That's a flat out lie. You're dying to bitch at me for the stunt I pulled tonight, when it was actually purely research on my part. You think I did it just for the hell of it."

Buffy spun around and glared at Draco. "Yes, I do. I think you used the excuse of getting Willow out of the house so that you could get off on being violated by a human-sized leech!"

Draco's eyebrows shot up. There was a story there. The passion and fire she felt was not stemmed by personal conviction, but by hurt. This situation had happened before, and judging by the set of her jaw and the slight shaking of her shoulders, the person who had done this was close to her.

"Who was it?"

Buffy blinked. "What? The leech? I don't know; it was a random vampire."

"No, who did that to you? Who chose the vampire over you?"

She had to consciously remember to breathe before she became dizzy. Had someone told him about Riley? "What?" she asked softly before marching forward towards the bed. "Who told you? Was it Willow? Did she tell you?"

The fact that it bothered her so much told Draco it was a personal issue. She was far too angry to think about it now, though. He could feel the hate pouring off her skin, not for the person who betrayed her but for the vampires who had stolen this special someone.

"Go take your shower, think about it, and then if you want to talk, I'll be here and stay up. If not, go into the other bedroom and forget I ever asked. I won't mention it again and I won't ask anyone for details."

Buffy was taking deep breaths and didn't take her eyes from Draco's. She could tell he was very curious, but was being honest at the same time. Without saying a word, she spun on her heel and left the room.

As she entered the bathroom and put her clothes on the counter, she looked in the mirror. Tonight had disturbed her more than she cared to admit. She thought she was over the hurt Riley had done to her. It had been over a year ago. He was married and happy, and they had put the past behind them. But that didn't stop her from still feeling the devastation that had washed over her the moment Spike motioned her through that door.

After turning on the shower, she stripped and observed a fresh bruise on her rib cage that extended to her back. Her anger made her vulnerable sometimes, and tonight had been no exception. A demon had gotten in a lucky shot while she was pummeling another one and sent her into a tree. She would be sore for a few days.

The shower felt nice, and the scalding water washed away the grime that came from being tossed about in a graveyard. As she washed out her hair, Buffy's thoughts turned to Draco. He claimed he knew what he was doing, but Riley probably would have said the same thing.

She finished the shower and dried off, changing into her pajamas. She delayed going into her bedroom by extending her nightly routine. After she had exfoliated her skin for the tenth time, Buffy sighed. Draco said she could just not even go into the bedroom, but deep down she knew that wasn't an option. They were going to have to talk about this.

Hoping that Draco had fallen asleep was probably useless. He didn't need sleep and she didn't think she'd ever seen him asleep the entire time he'd stayed in her house. Pushing open the door to her bedroom, her shoulders sagged when she saw that Draco was still up and reading a book.

He was lounging on her bed like he belonged there, propped on his side and reading the pages intently. When she entered, he looked up, but there was no change on his face; he was studying her like he had been studying the words of the book.

"You decided we can talk about this," he said.

"I did. I want to clear up anything you might be thinking." For the first time she had gotten back from patrol, the Draco she was familiar with emerged when he smirked.

"And what, pray tell, am I thinking?"

Buffy just crossed her arms defensively. "I have a problem with humans being voluntarily bitten by vampires," she said, completely dodging his question. "And before you ask, yes, it's because I know someone who went to a vampire whore to be bitten."

Draco sat back on the bed. "Who was it? And why did they go?"

She wasn't comfortable telling him about her love life, but she had an urge to get it through Draco's head that what he had done was dangerous.

"His name was Riley. He was a demon hunter and we had a relationship for a while. Two years ago, Dracula came to town and—"

"Bullshit," Draco interrupted with a grin. When Buffy did not nothing but raise an eyebrow, the grin disappeared and was replaced with a shocked look. "You've got to be kidding. iThe_/i _Dracula? The one from the books and cinema?"

"Yes, now don't interrupt. He…" Buffy took a deep breath and turned her head away from Draco. Her eyes fell on the window she had left cracked to let in cooler air that night—the same window Dracula was able to come in through, completely disregarding the invite-only rule that applied to all other vampires. "He got in the house using his mist-y abilities or whatever, and got into my bedroom."

This time it was Draco's eyebrow that shot up. "Are you trying to tell me he seduced you?"

"No!" Buffy immediately defended herself. "Well, not seduce as in we got to know each other in the Biblical sense of the word, but…" She finally just gave up. "He put me under his thrall. He bit me."

Draco was still very skeptical. "A vampire bit i_you/i_. How are you not dead?"

"It was a taste. He didn't want to kill me."

"You walked away from a vampire bite. That's impressive."

"Three," Buffy corrected quietly.

He blinked. "Three? You've been bitten three times? By whom?" Buffy paused, and Draco winced. "That was incredibly crass of me. I realize that's personal. You don't have to tell me."

"The first was a vampire called the Master," she began. There was no turning back now. Buffy decided to make herself comfortable and finally went to sit on the bed next to Draco. She put her back to the door to fully face him. There was no teasing on his face, and so she knew that he would keep her secrets. "It was written in a prophecy that the Slayer's blood would free him from his underground prison. I went and he drained me nearly dry. I fell into water and I drowned because I was unable to pull myself out. Xander gave me CPR and saved me. I was sixteen."

Draco felt a large amount of respect for Buffy. He also had the thought that she and Potter would probably get along too well. Both had a hero complex and both were faced with death too often.

"Two years later, Angel was poisoned. Angel was—"

"I know who he is," Draco said softly. "Giles told me a bit about him. Just the basics; you don't need to explain further." He knew what a sore subject Angel was to her and didn't want to approach it in depth. She was being very open and Draco knew that talk of her first lover would just make her close up.

Buffy nodded, grateful that she wouldn't have to go in depth about him. "He was poisoned, and slayer blood was the only cure. I let him bite me to save himself. I knew that he would stop in time. Obviously, he did. And then came Dracula, which brought on the trouble with Riley."

Draco stayed silent and waited for her to continue. Just as he had told her some dark secrets of his past a few days ago, she was sharing now.

"Riley found out that I had been bitten. He thought I let Dracula bite me, which I didn't." Buffy looked up with panic. Did Draco think she had let Dracula bite her? Riley hadn't understood what being under the thrall entailed. "The thrall—I was powerless to stop it."

"I know. I've been under a variant of a vampire's thrall. It's called the Imperious curse. If you're under it, you feel like you're floating on air. There's a voice that commands you to do something, and everything will be fine if you obey the voice. There's no reason to disobey."

She breathed a sigh of relief. He did understand. "Well, Riley was feeling reckless. He was ex-military, and I think he just needed a rush. He thought that I enjoyed getting bitten, and so he found a nest of vampires who only drink from willing victims. I walked in on him with a vampire draped across his lap latched onto his arm."

It was quiet in the room. "And you thought that I was feeling reckless and wanted a vampire bite?" Draco grinned at her and reached to the bedside table, where a piece of paper was folded to hide the contents.

"This is a letter from a premiere potions master in England asking me to take the Ashwinder eggs to see if they affect vampires when ingested. He sent over the eggs along with some guidelines on how to handle them, as if I couldn't remember, and I've already made up a detailed report to send back to him. Putting it in my blood with holy water and being bitten was the only way I could think of to test it out. I had planned on going on my own, but I figured having two witches and a vampire slayer as back-up was a good plan."

Buffy read the letter. It was very formal in a loopy script, but what Draco told her was true. "I'm sorry I overreacted. I just, I thought of Riley and I kind of lost it." Draco took back the letter and smiled at her.

"So… sorry. How's your neck?" As soon as she asked the question, her brow furrowed. She could clearly see the marks on his neck, but they were faded scars like hers, not fresh puncture wounds like they should have been. "What the hell?"

Draco smirked and tilted his head so she could see his neck easier. "Healing charm. I'm pants at them, but I don't mind the scar. It doesn't hurt and if I really need to, I can just charm the skin to look flawless. Mind if I see your battle scars?"

Buffy had leaned forward to look at his neck but leaned back, taking a deep breath. She pulled aside her hair and angled her hair so he could get a better look.

He moved closer to her to view the scars on her neck. There were clearly three different puncture sites, but they were very close together. "Do you want me to conceal them? It's a simple charm that Willow can keep up easily after I leave."

She shook her head. "I think it'd be too weird looking in the mirror and not seeing them. They're a part of me. I don't want to cover them."

There was an easy silence between the two of them. Buffy stood with a sigh. "It's late. I should probably get to bed."

"Stay."

She looked down in surprise. "What?"

"Willow's probably asleep. She's been doing magical exercises before bed, and those plus the cloaking she did tonight wore her out. Let her sleep in. It's probably time you got your own bed back anyway."

Buffy was still staring at Draco in shock. "Are you going to take the floor or the couch or something?"

He snorted. "I don't think so. Sofas are terrible for sleeping on and the floor is too hard. I can be an adult and stay on this side of the bed."

It wasn't him she was worried about. It was i_her/i_. But backing out would just make him suspicious and so that's how she found herself under the covers on the right side of her bed, trying not to fall off. Draco was on top of the covers lounged on the opposite side. Buffy tried to relax and release the tension in her muscles, but it was difficult.

Draco could feel the tension in her muscles from the other side of the bed. She wasn't going to fall asleep unless she relaxed. "Any other scar stories you have?" he asked.

Buffy turned over to look at Draco curiously. "Seriously? You want to trade horror stories? You realize I'm a walking bruise, right?" She started to turn over all the way but winced when her body weight rested on her bruised ribs. "Like right now. Ow."

He sat up with a concerned expression. "Were you injured tonight? Let me see."

"What? No." She realized that she was sounding a lot like Dawn when she denied something and quickly changed her tone. "I heal fast. It's fine."

"You're more like Potter than I originally thought. He claims a gaping hole in his thigh is a flesh wound, and I'm sure that you would as well. Let me see," Draco said in a firm voice.

Buffy sighed. She had no doubt there were ways to make her be still while he looked at her injury, so she rolled back over and lifted her camisole top. She shivered when his cold hand touched her skin lightly. His hand skimmed over the bruise until it reached the top of her sleep pants. Slowly, he moved the fabric down to view the whole bruise. This time when she shivered, it had nothing to do with his cold skin.

Draco looked over her ribs and internally winced. The skin was purple and blue, but the edges were already gaining a yellow-green tint. "Did you get punched by a tree?"

"Got thrown into one by a demon's fist. Same concept." Buffy winced when Draco prodded the area. "Hey, just because I heal easily doesn't mean I'm immune to pain. Watch it!"

He snickered. "Stop whining. Do you want this thing healed or not?"

Buffy looked over her shoulder in alarm. "You said you weren't good at healing charms."

"Healing charms, no. This is a bit different. It's a bruise. I can do a pain-relief charm and concealment." He pulled out his wand and cast a mild pain-relief charm on the area that was bruised. What he didn't tell her was that he was an expert in different blood curses and charms. One simple charm to mend the broken capillaries plus a cast to have the blood absorb back into the veins had her skin looking just as flawless as before.

Draco couldn't resist moving his hand over her bare skin one last time before he pulled away and moved back to his side of the bed. "There. It might be a bit sore for a day, but other than that, it's good as new."

Buffy sat up quickly and looked at her healed side. "Wow. I'm impressed." It was a little sore like he'd said it would be, but the skin looked fine and it wasn't as tender.

"I've had enough bruises and scrapes in my life. The healers finally taught me a few tricks to save them time. Plus, I'm vain as hell sometimes. I think they got tired of my bitching at them when they didn't heal me correctly." He lay down on the bed and got comfortable, closing his eyes. "Night, Summers."

She had a small smile on her face as she watched him prepare to sleep. Buffy rolled back over and got comfortable herself. Tonight she would sleep well.

………………

Buffy woke with a start. It was still dark outside, and a glance at the clock showed she had only been asleep for a few hours, but that didn't stop her body from waking her up. She needed to go to the bathroom, but when she tried to sit up, she found that an arm had her pulled firmly against a warm body at her back.

After debating on whether to get up or not, Buffy decided she really had to go to the bathroom and would have to risk waking Draco up and having a potentially awkward conversation. Luckily, when she moved his arm away from her, he moved onto his stomach and stayed asleep, his arm curled under him. She quickly escaped to the bathroom, hoping he'd stay asleep.

When she came back into the room, Draco had moved again, but he was on his side facing away from her. Buffy would miss the contact, but quietly got back into bed. The summer air was stifling, and she chanced sleeping on top of the covers with Draco.

As soon as she had gotten comfortable, Draco moved swiftly. He rolled over and grabbed her arm, pulling her onto her back. Buffy looked up at Draco in shock as he settled on top of her and smirked down at her. "I hope you weren't uncomfortable earlier. I was quite cozy and hated being woken up when you moved."

Buffy was breathing erratically as she stared up at Draco. He moved aside her hair and rubbed the vampire bites scars on her neck. She could feel her pulse speed up and heat radiated from every touch of his hand. "What are you doing?"

"Testing the waters," he replied gently, his hand now running across her collarbone.

The motions were driving Buffy mad. She arched up into him and watched as his eyes closed, his breaths coming faster. "Consider them tested." Buffy reached behind his head and grabbed his neck, pulling him down into a deep, passionate kiss. One of her legs wrapped around his waist and his arm reached under her back, increasing the contact between them. They broke apart, breathing heavily, but Draco immediately started to kiss down the side of her face. As they rocked together on the bed, Buffy gasped and closed her eyes as Draco lightly bit her neck right over her marks.

When she moaned, Draco pulled back and smirked down at her. "Wouldn't you just hate to wake up right now?"

When her eyes shot open, Draco wasn't on top of her. She was lying on her side, facing her bedroom wall, under the covers. As Buffy got her breathing under control, she realized it had been a dream. Draco's arm wasn't around her. She peeked over her shoulder and saw that Draco wasn't even facing her and was far on the other side of the bed. The time was different on the clock. It wasn't hot in the room; in fact, it was freezing. Battling disappointment and restlessness, she forced herself to relax and go back to sleep.

It was harder than she thought it would be.

…………….

"Oh. My. God."

Buffy groaned and tried to turn away from the annoying voice. She snuggled back into her pillow and mumbled for the noise to go away.

"Willow! Buffy and Draco are having post-sex snuggles!"

i"_What?_"/i

"Dawn, shut up!" Buffy groaned. She tried to open her eyes, but the sun was streaming right onto her bed. "Close the curtains and go away. I'm trying to sleep."

Suddenly, her pillow moved and she had a sinking feeling that she knew why Dawn was being very loud and screeching. Unlike when she had gone asleep earlier, Buffy was turned i_into/i_ Draco, and his arm was keeping her anchored there.

"Make her stop or I will, and she won't like my methods," Draco murmured, still half-asleep.

He hadn't realized the position he and Buffy were in. One of her legs was scissored in between his and her arm was thrown over his midsection. That potentially awkward conversation she had feared in her dream was coming true.

Buffy heard a gasp.

"Buffy! You denied smoochies yesterday! You liar!" Willow said with a grin.

"Oi, what's this?"

Buffy slowly pushed away from Draco, trying to ignore the fact that she had been cuddled up to the man she had been raging mad at the night before. The temptation to cover her head with a pillow and never leave the bed was high.

Draco rolled over and stretched, glaring at the sun. In the middle of the night he had woken up freezing and gotten under the covers. He kicked them off, the sun warming the room. When he turned to the doorway, his eyebrows shot up. "What's with the three of you?"

Dawn, Willow, and Tonks were in the hallway grinning.

"Don't worry. They didn't shag," Tonks said, nudging Dawn.

"What?" Draco asked, turning to Buffy. "Of course we didn't shag. We just stayed up talking after she got back from doing her rounds. Instead of waking up Willow, she stayed in here."

His cousin snorted. "He's still in his pants. That's how you know they didn't shag."

That didn't deter the Dawn, who still had a large smile on her face before she turned to Tonks.

"It's going to be i_so/i _cool being related to you!" she said before dashing off.

Willow laughed at the murderous expressions on Buffy and Draco's face before closing the door that Dawn had barged in on. She'd figured Buffy had just slept in her own bed, but she had no idea Draco was going to be in it with her. Dawn also hadn't followed Willow's suggestion of 'go in quietly to get your things then right back out'.

"I'm going to kill her," Draco growled out, rubbing the sleep off his face.

"Not before I do," Buffy replied, glaring at the door her sister had gone through.

It was quiet once again in the room. Buffy slowly sat up and stretched. Despite not getting much sleep and waking up in the middle of the night, she had slept well. She tensed when she felt Draco stand up.

"How's your side?"

Buffy turned to face him before the words registered in her mind. "Oh! I barely feel it." She lifted up the side of her top. The skin looked like it had before her run in with the demons. "Thanks for healing it. It would have taken a few days for it to look like it does now."

He just smirked at her and turned to the small bag of things he had brought with him. She just about had a heart attack when she saw that little black bag after Draco claimed he'd put a lot of clothes and things he'd need in it, but when he showed her it was bottomless, her mind started thinking of ways she could get her hands on a bag like that.

Her thoughts of re-arranging her closet went out the window when Draco stripped off his shirt and dug around for a new one. There were some scars along his skin from where he had been tortured at the hands of the enemy, but all it did was add character to him. Buffy momentarily pouted when the clean shirt went on.

With her view gone, she went to her own closet and grabbed the first outfit she saw, darting into the hallway to grab the bathroom. For being a male, Draco spent an abnormally long time in the bathroom.

Now that she was finally alone, perhaps she could catch her breath. As she closed her eyes, her dream swam into focus. Draco's hand rubbing at her sides, his lips caressing her skin, and his eyes when he looked down at her…

Or maybe she would be breathless until he left. She was fine with either.

…………………

It had been a week and a half since Tonks had left and Buffy had her dream about Draco. After that night, she hadn't returned to her bed, instead staying in the master bedroom with Willow. The witch kept teasing her that she'd be more than happy to take Buffy's smaller bed while Draco and Buffy made better use of the master bedroom, but the slayer would just glare at her. It didn't help that Dawn was not-so-subtlety trying to throw them together, either.

Things were finally getting quiet. Draco had been communicating with his friends, Pansy and Harry, and they were due to arrive in another week. Buffy wasn't sure how she felt about that.

There was a fondness in Draco's voice when he spoke of Pansy. Giles said that they had grown up together and were very close, but she tried to keep that in perspective. It was probably the same relationship she had with Xander. Both of them were just friends and were close because of the situations they had been put in.

Willow came into the kitchen where Buffy was writing down a grocery list. Or she had been trying to. She was easily distracted these days. Especially when Draco was in the room.

"Hey! What're you doing?" Willow asked cheerfully as she went to the refrigerator.

"Making the food list. I figured I'd go ahead and get a few things so we don't all starve to death."

Willow began pushing random cartons and take-out containers out of the way. "Do you have eggs and milk on your list?"

Buffy looked down. "Yes, I do, along with sandwich meat and that pickled relish Draco likes." She made a face. He criticized the food that they ate, but some of the things he called food were strange. If it weren't for the fact that he claimed he couldn't cook to save his life, she would force him to cook them a real meal. When she had challenged him to a cook off, all he'd done was smirk and told her to 'wait for Potter'. Apparently, he could cook real food.

Willow straightened and closed the refrigerator. "Can I come with? I'm antsy today."

Always glad to have Willow with her when she went out, Buffy nodded. "Sure. Let me grab my keys and let's head out."

They both headed to the foyer. Buffy grabbed her keys and peeked into the living room where Dawn was watching television. Giles was categorizing weapons he had received in a shipment from England.

"Dawnie, I'm going to the store. Need anything else besides all the crap you put on the list?" Her sister waved her on and Buffy shrugged. If Dawn bitched that she'd missed something, she'd deal with it later. "What about you, Giles?"

Her watched looked up, his glasses slightly askew. "No, no. I'm fine. Thank you though."

As Willow opened the door, both women stopped short when they saw Xander with his hand poised to knock on the door.

"I love it when you ladies read my mind," Xander said with a grin which disappeared when both Buffy and Willow glared at him. "What?"

"Nothing, Xander. We're going to the store to get food. Want to come?" Willow asked as they walked onto the porch and shut the front door.

Xander put his arms around both Buffy and Willow's shoulders. "Of course I would. Shall I escort you lovely ladies in my chariot?" Buffy elbowed Xander in the abdomen, making him wince. "I'll take that as a no?"

"You're such a goofball," Willow said, grinning at him. He opened the door for both Buffy and Willow before running over to his side of the car. He got in, started the car and they drove off, not noticing two pairs of eyes watching from the shade of a tree across the street.

The pair waited until the car was out of sight before crossing the road to the Summers' house. They approached the door and rang the doorbell, waiting.

Giles looked up when the doorbell rang. He'd seen Buffy grab her keys, so it couldn't have been her at the door. She was more likely to come around the back anyway. He stood, wincing as his knees protested. Dawn didn't even glance at him, still glued to the television.

"No, don't worry. I'll get it," he said dryly as he made his way into the foyer.

Dawn looked up at him then. "Huh?"

Giles just rolled his eyes and motioned her back to the television. With a sigh, he opened the door, his eyes widening in surprise.

Pansy Parkinson was standing on the porch with her arm wrapped around a very uncomfortable Harry Potter's shoulders, the grin on her face letting Giles know she knew exactly how unnerved she made him.

"Hello, Rupert."

……………………

Um, so yeah. End for the chapter. Now remember, I told you guys in the author note of chapter nine that you would love and hate me for this chapter, but you promise you don't hate me too much, right? At least you're getting chapter eleven a bit early and NOT waiting a full two weeks like I originally planned. That's just cruel, right? *grins*

P.S. To those of you who leave me reviews on , if you don't leave a signed review (aka sign in to review) I can't reply to them, although most of the unsigned review questions could have been answered if people who read my notes at the beginning of the chapters. D'oh.


	11. Chapter 11

Author note: So yes, cliffhanger last week and I almost-ALMOST-forgot to post this chapter. It was not until I was writing a reply back to Jacy and posting something that I remembered. I'm staying up extra for you guys to post this (just kidding—I have so much crap to do for Thanksgiving that it's stupid) so be grateful!

I will try to get to comment replies, but I'm just too exhausted right now. If I don't fall asleep somewhere that's not my bed tonight I will be surprised.

NaNo is still chugging along. Passed 40,000 words, which still puts me behind but I'm a lot closer than I was earlier. After I hit 50,000 words I'm immediately switching gears into writing Burning Bright, the sequel for this fic for Draco Big Bang. Next July you'll get the sequel in one big chunk. Exciting, right?

As always, reviews and comments are welcome. This chapter is one of the first things I wrote back in 2006 and I also came back to re-write the hell out of it a few months ago. It ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but not too bad. I hope too many people aren't disappointed with my Harry. I explain why he is what he is in the next chapter. Um, and don't kill me when you get to a ia certain spot/i where Buffy kinda sort meets Pansy in a round a bout way. Things fix themselves I promise! Remember—this was written back when this was firmly Draco/Pansy in my head. *offhand glare at Jacy*

And for those of you who just about had a ifrickin' fit/i over Fudge, read, be happy, and ileave me the hell alone/i.

……………………….

"Hello, Rupert," Pansy grinned when she saw the older man's expression. He was clearly surprised. She liked to keep people on their toes.

"Pansy, Harry. You're early," he said lamely. "Draco told me this morning you weren't due for another week."

Pansy rolled her eyes and stepped inside the house, with Harry following behind her. Once they were inside, Giles closed the door and turned to face them with a curious look on his face.

"Yeah, well, Potter here was starting to get twitchy," she grinned when Harry got a sheepish look on his face.

He crossed his arms as his face heated, finally putting some distance between himself and Pansy. "I told you I could have waited a few more days," Harry said with an exasperated look. "You didn't have to rush us here."

"And have you fully slip into withdrawal? You're already shaking, love, let's not push it too far," Pansy put a hand on his forehead and looked into his dilated eyes with concern. His body was radiating heat. He pushed her hands away and took a step back, irritated. She glared at him.

"Really, Pansy, I'm fine."

Dawn had been peering at the two people in the foyer. She had been very excited when Draco mentioned two of his friends were coming, but that was supposed to be in the future. If they were anything like his cousin, they were going to be super fun. Dawn stood and walked to the edge of the living room, looking over the new guests as quickly as she could.

"You're Pansy?"

Pansy turned and saw a teenage girl in the living room with a smile on her face. She raised her eyebrows at the teen, who walked toward her. This must be Dawn. Draco kept mentioning in his letters and their floo conversations that she was one of the most irritating teens he had ever met, but Pansy was willing to bet she could knock her down a peg or two.

"I'm Dawn," she said, holding out her hand, confirming Pansy's suspicions. "Draco's been talking about you a lot. Mostly how he knew you'd really get onto him if you found he did certain stuff, but he talks about you."

"And thank you, so much, Dawn, for telling her that bit of information," Draco sighed as he walked down the stairs.

Honestly, he hadn't been surprised to hear Pansy's voice downstairs. She'd told him that Potter was hanging on best he could, but they were pushing it by staying away from each other for so long. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he pulled Pansy into his arms and gave her a slow kiss. "I've missed you," he said with a mild pout.

Dawn's eyes widened and her jaw slowly opened. The English version of friend must be very different than her own.

Pansy just laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I've missed you as well. I had to, really, with no one but Potter and Blaise to keep me company."

"Speaking of Potter," Draco turned his eyes from the woman in his arms to the man behind her. "Lasted all we could, ay?"

Harry rolled his eyes again. "I was doing fine. We still would have had to come earlier, but the shaking isn't so bad now."

"His sweats are, though," Pansy said, glaring at him. "His body temperature is going up quicker than normal. Narcissa tried to calm him as best she could, but—"

"It's not i_that bad/i_," he interrupted, gritting his teeth. Harry crossed his arms and kept his hands locked against his ribs to control the shakes.

"I can feel your body heat from here, Potter, and your shaking i_is/i_ bad." Draco silenced Harry with a look. "This is the best you've done in a while, and it's a major mark in improvement." Draco motioned upstairs with a nod of his head. "Go upstairs, and take a right. The room has a large bed. I'll be there in a minute."

"You really think I'll need a bed?" Harry asked skeptically. "I haven't needed a bed in a while. If it's such a mark of improvement, why are we going back to step one? And can't I visit a bit before we start in with all the serious talk? Can't this be like a vacation?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "This i_isn't/i_ a vacation, Potter, or did you forget about the rules we had to break to leave? You don't break rules to leave on vacation."

Pansy smirked at him. "You know that they were itching to kick you out. The Ministry only wishes you would take vacations. And besides, we were good little citizens. No rule breaking to get us out of the country."

"What do you mean you didn't break any rules?" Draco asked.

She just smiled at Draco and patted his cheek. "We're not all deviants." He glared at her and she continued. "I mean that Fudge's law came back to bite him on the arse rather quickly. The Wizengamot disbanded it a few days after you left, but not before a few officials were fired from office because of illicit activities. Remind me to give you the juicy details on the reason Fudge himself might be put on trial."

Draco's eyebrows shot up. "Screw that, tell me now. Any dirt on Fudge is welcome news to my ears."

Giles cleared his throat and Draco sighed. "Right. Other priorities before Ministry gossip. You've been gone a long time, Potter. Let's get you squared away and then you cam bloody well flutter around like a social butterfly."

"Oh darling, let him talk to Rupert a bit. We have catching up of our own to do," Pansy said, running a finger down the front of Draco's shirt with a small grin on her face. When she looked up at Draco from under her long lashes, his grin matched her own.

"Fine. You have five minutes, Potter, then head up the stairs and go to the right like I told you."

Harry rolled his eyes and waved Draco and Pansy on. Draco put his arm around Pansy's shoulders and led her through the dining room and into the kitchen. After a moment, they heard the back door open and close. Harry turned towards Giles and Dawn with a small grin. "Hi."

Giles pulled him into a tight hug. "How are you, Harry? Faring well since we last spoke? You haven't been overcome by the Slytherins, have you?"

They slowly made their way into the living room and sat down on the couches. "It's been tough, but I've managed to hold my own. Pansy isn't that bad when Malfoy's not around. I've gotten to see Hermione and Ron more often since he's been gone."

Giles sent him a sympathetic look and opened his mouth when the front door slammed open and Buffy blew by.

"Forgot the stupid grocery list!" she yelled in explanation, not even looking over at them.

Harry turned to Giles with a raised eyebrow. "That's Buffy. I'm not even going to bother with telling her you're here, because if I get her sidetracked, poor Willow and Xander will be stranded not knowing where she went. You can meet them afterwards."

The three resumed talking and didn't notice Willow slip in quietly through the front door and run upstairs to grab her purse. She didn't pay any attention to the voices coming from the living room, assuming the television was on.

Buffy quickly sped into the kitchen and found the list where she had left it. She picked it up and was about to turn to leave when movement outside caught her eye. Buffy slowly moved towards the door to get a better look at who was outside. Her eyes widened.

Draco and another woman were out on the deck. Buffy's stomach dropped when she saw what she originally thought to be the two sharing secrets turned out to be a passionate make out session against the side of her house. When Draco pulled back, she saw the woman smirk up at Draco. Buffy knew that look. Whoever this was, she had a history with Draco, and judging by the way they continued to go at it, he rather liked having a history with her.

Forcing herself to turn away from the sight out the window, Buffy went into the living room. "Giles who is—" She stopped when she saw a stranger on her couch. "That? Who are these people?"

Harry quickly stood and nervously offered his hand to Buffy as she slowly came near. "I'm Harry Potter, an acquaintance of Draco's. I thought he would have informed you we were coming."

"I was under the impression it would be another week before you arrived."

So that's who it was. The woman outside was Pansy, Draco's "friend". More like friends with benefits. Buffy tried to not grind her teeth into a pulp as she thought about it. There was no point in getting jealous. They had only flirted, and Draco staked no claim on her or made a move to continue into a relationship.

Harry must have sensed the tension, because he nervously looked between the occupants of the room. "I'll just be going upstairs and waiting for Draco. Even though his mood has probably improved, I don't want to push my luck."

It wasn't his fault, but Harry's choice of words made Buffy want to punch something. "I guess we'll do introductions after I get back." Harry made his way upstairs and Buffy was silent until she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore. Buffy turned accusing eyes to Giles. "Surprise?"

Giles merely gave her a stern look. "I was as surprised as you were. They arrived early but they had a good reason. When we introduce everyone, we'll explain."

The back door opened and Buffy almost ripped a piece of the couch off when she heard a female voice giggling and male whispers. Draco and Pansy came around the corner, his arm around her waist and was leaning down talking softly into her ear. Pansy stopped them when she spotted Buffy.

Buffy expected Pansy to at least divert her eyes from the slayer's icy stare, but Pansy just cocked her eyebrow in amusement as a smirk curled onto her lips. Why wasn't she surprised? Trust Draco to get the queen bitch to rival Cordelia as a girlfriend.

"You must be Buffy, yes?" Her voice was smooth and cultured, like Draco's was, and her tone was part amused and part condescending. "Pansy Parkinson. Draco's told me so much about you."

"Funny," Buffy replied, crossing her arms. "Draco didn't deem you important enough to mention."

"Buffy!" Giles hissed.

But Pansy didn't take offense. She found it more amusing and her grin widened. That just pissed off Buffy more. She turned to Giles in a huff. "Has Willow gotten her purse yet?"

Giles went from irritated to confused. "Willow? I didn't see her come in."

"She forgot her purse in her room and went to get it."

Draco quickly stiffened and looked around. "Where's Potter?"

No one answered him, because Pansy's eyes quickly rolled back in her head and she dropped like a dead weight. Draco caught her and laid her down on the floor. "Pans? What's going on?"

"Get up there," she said breathily. "Go!"

Draco disappeared and Giles was instantly by the dark haired witch's side. "What did you see, Pansy?" he asked gently. Buffy took a step back when Pansy opened her eyes and they were milky white.

"What the hell?" she asked, but no one answered her. Dawn came around and grabbed onto Buffy's arm.

"You don't think she's possessed, do you? Like I was and like Xander?"

Giles sent them both an irritated glance. "Hush, the both of you. She's a Seer." He turned back to Pansy and helped her sit up. "Now what happened that you had send Draco upstairs."

A shockwave of power tangible to everyone in the house went out and rocked them on their feet. Pansy only stayed standing with Giles' help.

"That's what happened. Harry and Willow just met. I think the words are 'instant attraction.'"

Giles winced. "Oh, dear Lord."

…………………………….

Harry walked up the stairs and took a right like Draco told him. As he looked through the halls and peered in through some of the rooms with open doors, he wondered how long Draco and Pansy would be snogging outside. If Draco had been half as irritating at Pansy had been about the other being gone, he felt very sorry for Giles.

He found the room that Draco had talked about and went in. The room seemed colder, but he ignored it and sat down on the large bed.

Ever since his own magical burst, Harry was more aware of deep emotions and places of magical bursts, and this room had both the emotional and magical residue painted all over the walls. If he closed his eyes…he could almost see the scene that had played out. All he could see now was red…was that blood?

"Who are you?"

Harry opened his eyes and shot off the bed, turning around to look at the woman who had just walked through the door he hadn't seen that connected to another room. She was young, and was poised defensively, like she expected him to attack her. He held up his hands in a sign of surrender.

"I'm sorry if I intruded. Draco told me to come up here to this room."

The woman furrowed her brows and looked at him closer. He, in turn, looked at her more closely. She had red hair that was cut to her shoulders, and looked as if it had seen brighter days. Her eyes were haunted, and she carried a tension on her shoulders that seemed to make her hunch.

"Who are you? What are you doing to me?" she asked again, with a sharper tone. Her magic rose around her and Harry's eyes widened. She didn't even move a muscle and yet she had so much i_power/i_.

Harry backed up, his hands still raised, until his back hit the wall. His senses were on overload from all the magical power rolling off the witch in front of him. She looked as scared as he was. He wasn't expected her to scream for Draco's help, though.

Now that his barriers were lowered because of the power, he didn't have to close his eyes to see the scene of magical power from the past in the room.

_iYour shirt…_

_Tara?_

_Red eyes…_

_Eyes like Voldemort's when he had taken over Ginny…/i_

Harry arched his back and shouted as her magic weaved over him, and took some of his own magic at the same time. He soon felt his power come back at him ten-fold, and he took a shuddering breath. He knew who she was now. Willow. The Dark One. The witch who caused him to nearly lose it again after he had worked so hard to build his barriers up. Of course, that was when he was thousands of miles away. Now, she was standing in front of him, and her power was rolling off of her and filling him up with so much amazing power.

"Willow, stop!"

When the power suddenly stopped flowing, Harry gasped and fell to the floor. He stared ahead with unseeing eyes and didn't notice when Pansy fell to the ground in front of him.

"Oh, no you don't, Potter. Not after all the hard work we've put into you." She grabbed his face and put her index fingers on his temples. "Come on, Potter. Build up those barriers. Calm down!"

………………………………

She didn't know why she lost control so easily. She was in Dawn's room searching for her purse, because that was the last place she could remember putting it, and suddenly felt like she was back in time, on the day Tara had died. She could see the blood…

She turned to her right and quickly walked through the door to the master bedroom. Instead of finding her dead lover, she saw a man sitting on the bed facing away from her. He was the reason she was remembering.

"Who are you?" she asked. When he got up and turned around, she noticed how he raised his hands up so as to not seem threatening. She took a deep breath and took in his essence. He was strong, magically, but his barriers were very weak. His magical senses were extended, as if sensing something magically.

He said something, but she couldn't hear him. She looked at him closer, trying to decide if she had seen him somewhere before, but didn't recognize him. He was breathing quicker than normal, looked like an animal about to dart.

"Who are you?" she asked again, and suddenly her power roared up around her, and she felt like she had just run a marathon. She noticed his reaction and her power grew around her. He backed up against the wall and his pupils were dilated now. He was like a sponge—soaking up her power and sending it back in small bursts. She suddenly felt as if the scene was horrifyingly familiar.

She couldn't believe his reaction. She had never seen someone react this strongly to her power, and it was almost intoxicating. She vaguely thought that she knew why Rack had been a magic dealer. Her magic was reaching for his, and Willow had no idea what to do. She wasn't in control of her magic.

He then screamed and she pushed back the magic she had been seeping from him, tainted with her own. She took some more of his power and mixed it with her essence, before sending it back to him in a strong shock. She couldn't believe she was doing this—willingly distributing and receiving tainted power, when she knew how wrong it was. But, she knew by the reactions of the man in front of her, he had been to a dealer before. He knew how to heighten the power at the right moments and send it back. She was about to send another powerful wave back to him, when someone rushed in front of her and grabbed her.

"Willow, stop!"

It was Draco, and he was pushing her power back into her with amazing force. With his hands wrapped around her torso, she suddenly felt tired and fell back against Draco's back. He lowered them to the floor and she leaned forward and took deep gulps of breath. She started shaking. Oh, Goddess, she had dealt out power like some experienced dark dealer.

Willow felt the arms hold her tighten from behind and she clutched at the arms and started sobbing.


	12. Chapter 12

Author note: Guh. That's all I can say. I still have not recovered from Thanksgiving and I got a promotion (a very wtf moment for me, as I didn't know I was up for one) which meant today was my first day at my new position and I just about died. I was going to post this last night, but it was one in the morning and I just had to go to sleep, so I slapped a post it on my laptop and this is the first thing I'm doing before I delve into… the numerous things I have yet to do.

Like chapter eleven, this was written in 2006 and was re-written and flesh out until I was happy with it. It took a while, and the characters sighed way too much (really, it like every other word). It's a bit… choppy still. I'm still not completely happy with it. Something irks me about it and it has for three years, but I have not been able to figure it out.

Also fic related—the planned sequel for this fic, named Burning Bright, was going to be my Draco Big Bang fic. Well, I was listening to the song Burning Bright, which was my inspiration, and decided it didn't fit. It fit another Draco fic I've been working on for a year, and so now that is named Burning Bright and will be the Draco Big Bang. What does this mean for IAFY?

The sequel won't be out in June like I originally planned, but that means I'll be working on it with more dedication and thought that it deserves.

After I post this, I'll respond to comments (I promise). I've been terrible about it, but life decided to whip me down. Reviews and comments are appreciated, and even mistakes that are pointed out help me to fill in plot holes and the like.

Love to Jacy, and love to all of you who have stuck with me this far. Eight more chapters!

………………………………

When Harry came out of his dark magic high, the first thing he noticed was someone crying. No, not crying—sobbing. He hadn't heard cries like that in a long time. He blinked a few times and then finally his eyes focused on Pansy, who was sitting in front of him, watching him closely.

"All right there, Potter?"

He nodded and sat up a bit, shaking his head to clear it and took a few deep breaths. He looked at Pansy, who was checking over him and he could feel her checking his magical core as well. Everything felt normal. In fact, for the first time in a long time, he felt i_great/i._

"Well?" he heard a voice ask from across the room. He saw Draco holding the woman—Willow—who was sobbing into his chest. He didn't seem concerned about her and was focused more on Pansy and Harry. All he remembered was red hair, red eyes, then pure power.

"It was just a simple high. Strong, but simple. He'll be reeling for a few days and I don't think healing him will be smart until he fully comes off of it." Pansy then turned to check his eyes, holding up an illuminated wand to his face, checking his pupils. She leaned back and shook her head, a small smile on her face. "Better than any high you'll ever get in Knockturn, Potter?"

"Hell, yeah," he said, his face flushing. Merlin, if his friends saw him now, coming off of one of many magical highs…

"You and your stupid Gryffindor feelings, Potter," Pansy said, rolling her eyes. She sat up and assisted Harry to his feet and steered him to the bed, where he laid down and closed his eyes. The power flowing through him still hummed beneath his skin.

"Is she all right?" Pansy turned around to face Draco and Willow on the floor, but looked at Harry when he asked his question.

"She'll be fine, Potter. I think it's just a combination of shame and guilt that is making her overload at the moment," Draco said rubbing a soothing hand over Willow's back, calming her. "I had no idea she was here when I told you to come up. She was supposed to be out of the house. I wasn't planning on letting you two meet until you both were far away from going into withdrawals."

Pansy crouched next to Willow and took her from Draco, who stood up, sending her a grateful glance. Pansy let Willow lean on her fully as she continued to cry, oblivious to the world around her. Draco walked over to the bed and sat down next to Harry, who looked up at him, still breathing heavily. Draco then narrowed his eyes.

"What the hell did you do, Potter?"

Harry's eyes widened as he tried to sit up, but Draco pushed him back down. "You did something. You were playing with emotions and essences." Draco growled and looked up at the ceiling in annoyance. "How many times have I told you—"

"Never to access past memories of unknown locations by myself, I know!" Harry interrupted.

"And yet you i_still/i_ do it! Do I have to _beat_ the lessons into you now? Do you have any idea of what could have happened?" Harry turned his head to the side as his face flushed again. "You i_both/i_ could have overdosed and i_died/i_! God, Potter, you're lucky Willow has really excelled in her healing and she just took the dealing route. The overload could have sent her into magical shock!"

"Draco," Pansy said softly, looking up at him with gentle eyes. "Calm down, love. Yelling and stressing are not the ways to solve this." Draco huffed and ran a hand through his hair. "Now, Willow's worn herself out, and I think it looks like Potter's going to pass out any moment, so help me get her into another room and set up alarms for when they wake up."

Draco looked down at the now dozing Harry and went to Willow and picked her up. They put her in Buffy's bedroom, and both set wards telling them both when either of them would wake up. They went downstairs where Giles and Dawn were sitting down. Buffy and Xander had joined them. Everyone stood when Pansy and Draco entered the living room.

"What was that?" Buffy asked immediately. "What happened to Willow?" Giles put a hand on her shoulder, but she didn't take her eyes from Draco's.

"Potter has the ability to access memories that occurred during a time of extreme emotional stress or times when a heavy amount of magic was used. He barely tapped into the memory of Tara dying before Willow came in. I thought she was gone when I sent Potter upstairs, but she was upstairs doing something. She felt the tap and confronted Potter," Draco exclaimed. He then looked at Pansy to continue.

"Potter has a dark magic addiction," she said. "It's not like Willow's at all," she quickly added when many of the people started voicing protests. "Potter has an addiction in which he merely needs relief. He's not storing all the magic he receives, like Willow did." Pansy sighed and motioned for everyone to sit down. When they had, she and Draco continued standing. "This was not what I envisioned doing when I arrived."

Draco glared at her. "A dark magic addiction is not like a Muggle drug addiction or the like. This addiction is a two-way addiction, in that both the dealer and the receiver need each other. The dealer is the more powerful, while the receiver depends on the dealer's power to get their high. However, there are exceptions to the rules." Draco sighed and pulled up two chairs from the dining room table for him and Pansy to sit on. The British witch took over the explanation.

"A dealer will send power through a channel to the receiver who will send it back. It's a magical haze that can last hours and hours, or just a short time. Willow went to a reverse dealer. She had more power, and so she would send her power to her dealer, Rack in this case, and he would juice it up a bit, and send it back to her. Rack would then take more power from her, taint it more, and send it back."

Draco leaned forward in his chair and looked at Giles. "I think I've finally figured out how she gained so much power in so little time." At Giles' surprised expression, Draco continued. "Because Willow would send her own power to Rack, she wouldn't send the same part of her essence over and over, and disperse the magic inside of herself when she received the power back from Rack. She sent different parts of her essence, and Rack had no idea, since she would send and receive her power herself, and not depend on him to do the transferring."

"So Rack thought she was using up all the magic quickly, when really she was just storing it in different parts of her magical core and sending out untouched parts of her essence to be accelerated with dark magic," Giles finished and sighed heavily.

Pansy looked at Draco sharply. "That's not possible. She should have died from magical shock from doing that. More focused wizards and witches i_have/i_ died from it."

"My guess is she didn't do it at first, and simply let Rack do the giving and receiving himself. She must have learned about the different ways to transfer and simply taken over, just using Rack as a conduit for her magical power," Draco said.

"How did you come to this conclusion?" Giles asked, looking between Draco and Pansy with a questioning glance. They both looked at each other and grimaced, and finally Draco turned to look at him.

"Because that's what she did with Potter."

"Wait a minute," Buffy said looking between the two British wizards. "You mean to tell me Willow was up there dealing dark magic?"

"She's lucky," Pansy snapped, glaring at the blonde. "Potter is an i_addict/i_ and could have very well drained her if she hadn't moderated it." She stopped and looked at the woman staring down at her. "You don't get it do you? A dark magic addiction is i_dangerous/i_. Muggle drugs can't hold a candle to dark magic. There's no coming back from it. Potter will constantly have to have a dose of magic for the rest of his life. His magical core was altered. That's the most serious thing that could happen to a witch or a wizard."

"She's right," Draco said, "and if Willow hadn't been to Rack in the first place, and had encountered Potter while he was in this state, he would have killed her."

"But how is that possible?" Xander asked looking at Giles.

"Dark magic practices are common everywhere in the magical world, but addictions are not. Addicts leach off of other's powers, and constantly are looking for a magical being strong enough to handle the transferring of powers. Willow would have been powerless to stop Harry if he had encountered her, because her essence is so strong, but her ability to keep her magic was not. When she went to Rack, she learned the control that she needed, but at a very high price."

"So you're saying that Willow will be trying to drain other witches and wizards?" Dawn asked with a tinge of fear laced in her voice.

"No." At the looks he received, Draco elaborated. "Witches and wizards will be coming to i_her/i_ to give them power. She has control now, and you no longer have to fear her going to a dealer again."

"She's going to i_be/i_ the dealer now, isn't she?" Buffy asked sadly, looking down at the floor.

"Now that she's tasted it, yes," Pansy said. "A dark magic dealer is much more dangerous though, because the backlash from a powerful client could cause magical overdose and shock, but the high is longer and better."

Xander closed his eyes and his head fell. "And the Harry guy?"

"Will be fine," Draco stated firmly. "Although I dare say he'll never want to go to another dealer anywhere else, now that he's seen the power Willow can give."

"She's going to have to do this the rest of her life?" Xander asked incredulously.

"Like I said, dark magic addiction is a lifetime thing. There is no coming back from it. Her magic is used to being transferred now, and will constantly have to be sent through other magical cores. If she can get safe clients, like Harry and some others we know, everything will be fine. She might even be able to use her powers in a positive way and not even need to deal," Draco sighed and stood up. "I'm going to check on them, to make sure they're asleep."

He left and not another word was spoken downstairs.

………………………………….

Willow woke up suddenly, and recognized the room she was in as Buffy's. She felt disoriented, but oddly juiced up magically. Suddenly, the door opened to the room and Draco walked in. Willow found her memories returning to her quickly. She sat up and ignored her spinning vision.

"Oh, Goddess, I—"

"Reacted, Willow, you merely reacted." Draco sat down on the bed and looked down at the crying witch. "I thought you were gone, otherwise I would have never sent Potter up here. He was slipping into withdrawal, and his barriers were so weakened he couldn't help but do a little sense searching. The fact that you were so close just made your magic react, and it recognized an altered magical core."

"I tainted his magic," Willow sobbed, her eyes unfocused as she stared down at the bedspread. "I tainted his magic and drew it out of him, and sent it back like some dark magic dealer!" She felt like she couldn't breathe; her chest was caving in on itself. "I can't believe I violated him like that."

"You didn't violate him, Willow," Draco assured her quickly. "You aren't the first dealer he's been to, either."

Willow stared at him in disbelief. "He's an addict, and you brought him here! Are you insane? You didn't even tell me!" She shouted at him accusingly.

"I don't get what the big deal is," a new voice chimed in. "Why are you all stressing so much about that Harry person being an addict?" Willow and Draco both turned to look at Buffy, who had just walked in and joined the other two on the bed. "I just wanted to check on you, Will. So…why's this such a big deal?"

It was Willow who answered. "Magic has a mind of its own, Buffy. That's why control is so important. Abusing magic, or using magic excessively and without due cause, isn't addiction to magic, it's just abusing magic. Magical addiction is taking the magic, tainting it with darkness, transferring it between magical cores and manifesting it through a magical high." Willow sighed and looked down at her hands. "Basically, it's taking away the free will of magic, forcing it through two or more people, and reeling off the dark, high magical power. Once a person's magic is tainted, it can't be purified. And an addict will always have to have transferred power, or the magic will turn on the person."

"So, how did Harry become an addict? I take it addicts aren't the most popular people," the slayer asked Draco. The wizard sighed and gazed between them.

"You must keep this a secret. No one besides you two must know of this," he said with much seriousness. When both women nodded, he nodded back. "After Ginny died," Draco stopped at Buffy's look, "Potter's lover who was possessed by an evil wizard who forced her to commit murders and then kill herself in front of him—After she died, Potter's magical core was altered, because the magic inside him responded to the rage and thirst for vengeance it felt inside of him. Every time he killed the followers of the evil wizard who killed Ginny—Voldemort—his magic would take some of the follower's magic. He was basically calling their dark magic to himself, and expanding his magical core to accommodate it. When he tried destroying the magic, he released his own dark magic first, and by this time, Pansy and I had stopped him from taking other's magic as well."

Draco stopped when he heard footsteps. Pansy had walked to the door and nodded at Draco, who nodded back. She disappeared as quickly as she came. Both Buffy and Willow looked at Draco curiously. "Potter's awake. I digress. This was the first time Potter had felt the transferring of power, and he didn't know what it was. He was a mess after this and after a few months of healing, he wasn't responding well. I was going to Knockturn Alley, which is a magical location that specialized in dark magic, to see if I could find a powerful sleep draught that would knock Potter out so I could get him in a healing trance. I told Potter to wait outside the store in the doorway, because his magic was so unstable, it would have neutralized a lot of the ingredients in the store.

"While I was inside, Potter saw a dealer with a client, and saw a small amount of magical power being transferred. He saw the effects on the client, and immediately went after the dealer. By the time I was done, Potter had already followed the dealer to a building four doors down and was getting his high. I tracked him down only to find him lying on his back in middle of a bed, thoroughly wasted on a magical high, and determined to get his dealer to give him more magic in any way possible, regardless of the fact that said dealer was about to shove a knife in his heart."

Both Buffy and Willow's eyes widened. "He's the savior of the world. He still had some enemies," Draco replied, waving it off. "Pansy and I figured out that he needed to have a dark magical dose every so often for his healing to work, because otherwise, his magic wouldn't respond correctly. I have a few friends who are dealers, but they couldn't help him much, because he needed such strong dose often. It got to the point where he'd have to go every other day to get a magical fix."

"How did you decrease the dosage he needed?" Willow asked.

"It took a long time, but I finally found a way to channel his magic into another source—emotional and magical sensing. His magic needed to be used in some way constantly, and the only way he knew at the time was through his addiction. By giving his magic some other means of use, he didn't have to go to a dealer so much."

"But he still has to go," Buffy stated, trying to wrap her head around the concepts.

"Yes, he'll always have to go. No matter how much he uses his magic in other ways, it will always need to go through different magical cores," Draco confirmed.

"So, my magic will always have to go through different magical cores as well?" Willow asked quietly.

"Yes, and that's why it was so dangerous to have you and Potter together when he was so close to withdrawal. That's also why his magic went sensing about the room when he got there. It needed to be used." Draco sent her a wry grin. "I dare say his magic is very content, and I won't have to help him any time soon."

The red haired witch looked down at her lap, shamed. She curled her fists in loosely, half-expecting to see the magic coming out of her pores. "I think it just hit me, that I'll have to deal magic out regularly."

"I had hoped to avoid the issue altogether, but it seems like that decision has come around to bite me on the arse. It's going to be tough, and I'm not going to lie to you, you'll have problems coming back from it and getting into the right mind. Dealers who aren't experienced often go insane because their magic turns on them, but I can help you. I i_will/i_ help you," Draco said.

He meant that, too. It tore him up to see Willow so heartbroken. Coming from the family he did, the problems with dark magic were explained early on to him, and he knew how to control it. Willow was not so lucky, but she had plenty of people who would come to her rescue.

Just then, a tentative set of footfalls sounded in the hallway, and a sheepish and mussed Harry Potter walked through the door, making Draco roll his eyes. Buffy could see a subtle difference between his Harry and the Harry she met earlier. He was more laid back, less jittery, and his eyes were more alive than she'd seen them. It was a shame he had to go through such horror to feel like that.

"Well, Potter, never let it be said you don't make entrances," the blond wizard said waspishly.

"You told me to come up here!" Harry said agitatedly, losing his embarrassed flush. "I was just following your orders, oh, Lord Malfoy."

"I didn't know you'd try to do a magical sensing of some foreign room that you i_knew/i_ had a large dark magical taint!" Draco retorted. "Only idiots would do that. Oh, wait. I'm talking to i_you/i._"

Buffy and Willow shared a glance. Willow shook her head. "It's kind of like Angel and Xander, except they're magical and don't go poof in the day time."

"I'm still holding out on Draco walking into the rain and melting," Buffy responded before they both turned back to the impromptu shouting match.

"I couldn't help it! My magic went completely mad!" Harry flailed his arms about and glared at Draco, exasperated.

"When was the last time you had a fix, then? You were supposed to go to Blaise last Tuesday!" Draco stood up and crossed his arms. "If you were properly looked after, you should have been fine."

"He didn't have time to see me," Harry said through clenched teeth. Draco's eyes narrowed and both Buffy and Willow noticed that the room temperature dropped, and frost started to form on the glass of water on the bedside table.

Harry's eyes widened, and he immediately turned toward the door. "i_Pansy/i_!" he bellowed. The witch was suddenly in front of Draco, making both Willow and Buffy jump at the loud crack, and watched as Draco was calmed down to a more normal level. He instantly looked at the witch in front of him.

"Blaise didn't have the bloody time to see Potter?"

Pansy let out a sharp sigh and stepped away from Draco. She glared at Harry, who made a face. "I didn't want to tell you yet. Supposedly, he got two new clients, and one nearly went into heavy withdrawal." At Draco's raised eyebrow, she pursed her lips. "They're tagged."

"Oh, bloody hell, could this be any worse?"

"Tagged?" Willow asked with a touch of fear in her voice.

Draco started pacing in the small room. "Remember why you couldn't go to England? About the requirements?" At her nod, he continued. "Well, when an addict has to give a reading of their essence, it shows they're just that—addicts."

"Apparently," Pansy chimed in, "the Ministry is keeping tabs on them and their dealers, making sure they're only getting their minimal dose, which is very stupid considering it's keeping them closer to withdrawal than anything else."

"Our good friend Blaise is one of the most high-profiled dealers in Britain. If he has two new tagged clients, those are his new priority, because if one of them overdoses or withdrawals, he could be incarcerated or even have his magic removed from him, which would lead to death," Draco explained to them, and then reached into his pocket, pulling out a small green velvet bag.

"Draco—" Pansy said warningly.

"But that doesn't mean I can't be pissed as hell at him," he finished, glaring at Pansy and marching downstairs. Pansy growled and followed him through the hallway, and Harry sighed. He started to go after them, but he turned back to Willow and Buffy on the bed.

"I'm really sorry about—" he started to say, but Willow interrupted him.

"Don't mention it. And we're coming," she finished, getting of the bed and motioning Buffy to follow her. They went downstairs to meet up with everyone else. Buffy looked down at Draco, who was leaning down at her fireplace.

"What are you doing?" she asked dubiously.

"It's a form of magical communication," Giles told her, and Buffy and Willow jumped when suddenly a body was pulled through the fireplace. "And it can also be used for transportation," he finished dryly.

Everyone looked down at the man who was now lying on the floor, grinning up at the enraged man standing above him.

"If you i_knew/i_ you had two high priority clients why in the i_fucking hell/i_ didn't you tell Potter ahead of time so he could have acted accordingly?" Draco growled at him in a low voice. When the man on the floor laughed, it sent shivers down Willow's spine, and she noticed Harry had the same reaction. Willow knew then this had to be Blaise, and she could see why he was a high-profile dealer. His essence was practically dripping with dark magic.

"How was I to know that the chit was like an ickle virgin in a whorehouse? She came to me the day before, and I dosed her up so much she should have been reeling for days." Blaise smoothly got to his feet and dusted his clothes off. "And before you ask, yes I checked to see if the magic had distributed, and it had. She was just so green that the magic simply let itself out of her system."

"And she can afford this?" Pansy asked incredulously, making Blaise give her a wicked smirk.

"Would i_you/i_ say no to dishing it out to the youngest Delacour?"

"i_What/i?_" The entire England group shouted. The Sunnydale crew just looked at each other in confusion.

"Gabrielle is going to you for highs?" Harry asked incredulously. "Does Fleur know?"

"How did she become exposed to this?" Giles asked vehemently. Blaise sighed.

"Apparently she was at a party where someone was dealing out in small bursts. Her being half veela just made her magic that more attracted to it. Since Gabrielle often visits Britain, she had to register. She was tagged and Fleur found out and came to me one night and asked if I'd be the dealer to take her in. I, of course, said yes," he finished with a cheeky grin.

"Merlin, Blaise, if you're dealing out for sex—" Pansy said, pointing her finger at him.

"I'm not some Muggle pimp, Parkinson," he snapped. "She pays me in rare ingredients for potions."

"Which you then sell on the black market," Draco said with a humorless laugh. "Merlin, what am I going to do with you?" he asked rhetorically.

His friend rolled his eyes and straightened out his robes around his suit. "I'm not one of your charity cases, Draco. Just keep your mother off my back about my work and I'll be fine."

"She worries for you, you know," Draco said annoyed.

"She's not my mother."

"Your mother is dead, Blaise."

"How could I forget?" he asked with a sarcastic grin on his face. "It's not like you killed her or anything… oh, wait."

Buffy's jaw dropped. That was a detail he left out of their conversations. Last time she checked, killing someone was a damn big deal. She quickly looked to Willow, whose expression was equally shocked. When her gaze landed on Giles, she was surprised to find him annoyed.

Pansy hit both Blaise and Draco on the shoulder. "Zabini, stop being an arse."

"Wait," Buffy said with wide eyes, "i_You/i_ killed his i_mother/i_?"

"It's not like I woke up one day and said, i_I'd like to kill my best mate's mum/i._ She tried to kill me first!" Draco exclaimed.

"That's mature," Pansy said with a small grin. Draco just glared at her.

"Now that we've established that my mother, Merlin burn her soul, was a psychopathic seductress," Zabini said with an agitated growl, "Can I go now? I have appointments to keep."

"Yes, Blaise, you may go," Giles said.

Blaise turned toward the fireplace, and caught Willow's eyes. He grinned at her, and she took a deep breath. It was almost like look at Rack all over again. The exchange didn't go unnoticed, and Draco scowled at him. The wizard moved to stand in front of Willow, blocking the view.

"On your way."

Blaise nodded, threw some powder into the fire and was whisked away.

"Well, that was interesting," Harry said with a grin that slowly faded at the looks he received.


	13. Chapter 13

Author note: Guh. Sorry, yet again, for not having this out earlier. The promotion I mentioned last week is kicking my iass/i and I was sick last weekend, and am trying to get caught up and all this other shit is happening that you don't need to know about.

First off, it is confirmed that I will NOT be doing the sequel to this fic for the Draco Big Bang on Livejournal, but I will be doing another Draco/Buffy fic. Once it is posted on Livejournal, look for the massive fic in all it's glory in July! The sequel to this fic will be worked on in the summer.

Second, you are getting a special surprise tonight on account of it being my beta and best friend Jacy's birthday today. Without her, this fic would be deleted and thrown away and all those evil things that happen to fics that infuriate the authors who write them. She stuck with me, helped me pull through, and I cannot praise her enough!

Last, but certainly not least, thank YOU guys for reviewing and reading! Over 12,000 hits and over 60 reviews… wow. It's amazing. I didn't expect this to be so well-liked.

This chapter is mostly filler (long filler—over 5,000 words!) but it starts on a plot point that was addressed in chapter three and spans the next four chapters. Hope you like!

………………….

They all stood around for a few moments as the embers in the fireplace died. Xander raised his hand.

"Anybody else find it oddly strange that we don't question people being dragged from another continent into the living room through a fireplace?" When no one said anything but just stared at him, Xander nodded and lowered his hand. "Thought so."

"It's typical Wizarding transportation, Xander. You can hold conversations, go to different places of business, and as Draco demonstrated," Giles said while gesturing at Draco, "people can be dragged through them as well."

The room was quiet for a few seconds, and then Willow was the first to speak.

"We haven't really been properly introduced. Just me and my wacky magic making us look bad. Who are you and what are your names again?" she asked, turning towards Pansy and Harry. Draco snickered and put his arm around Pansy and Harry, standing between them.

"Well, I'm shagging one of them and can't stand the other. Call me gay and I'll hex you."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Nice to know you haven't changed, i_dear/i_."

Buffy was silent. She lied when she told Pansy that Draco never mentioned her. Draco had mentioned Pansy numerous times. She knew they'd been dating in the past, but it was obvious they weren't over each other. They were too comfortable around each other, and his exclamation that they were still attached in some way bothered Buffy. She didn't like to be pulled along, but they would have to cross that bridge when they got to it. For all she knew, Draco just wanted her to amuse himself with before Pansy came. With a huff, she turned to Pansy and made a face. "How do you stand him? I've known him a month and I want to kill him."

"And I've known him since we were babes. I've built up a tolerance," Pansy retorted with a smile. "That and I'm on better terms with his mother than he is. One toe out of line and his clothes get burned off. Literally."

That caused Harry to grin. "For all that I hate your father, your mum totally makes up for it."

"You just like her because she finally figured out how to control that rat's nest on your head, Mr. Boy Who Can't Be Arsed To Look In A Mirror," Draco replied with scowl. For good measure, he took the arm that was over Harry's shoulder and ruffled Harry hair.

This caused an impromptu wrestling match in the living room, with Draco in a headlock that he was quickly released from when he punched Harry in the side. Pansy just rolled her eyes.

"Boys, can we try to act mature for at least five minutes, please?" Pansy said with a sigh. "I will not hesitate to tell Narcissa how you're behaving."

Both boys straightened and glared at each other while Pansy rolled her eyes, turning back to Willow.

"My name is Pansy Parkinson. That's Harry Potter. Giles was supposed to tell you we were coming," she said with a mildly disapproving glare.

"Yes, well, you're early!" he retorted. Pansy just dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

"With Blaise unable to see Potter, we had no choice. That and the protective crystal against mind possession only lasts thirty-one days, and I didn't want to wait until the thirty-first day to try and do the healing."

Buffy's hand automatically went up to the crystal around her neck. Harry noticed the movement and started to look over, but Draco grabbed his shoulder and made Harry look at him. Harry sent Draco an irritated look and still turned to look. Draco put a hand on the side of his face and forced his head forward.

"Don't even think about it. It nearly brought me to my knees when I first saw it, and you've done more than enough sensing for a day. We'll start tomorrow, all right? No need to have you overloaded again and passing out."

Draco kept his grip on Harry until he nodded.

Buffy looked at Harry skeptically. "He's going to be helping my healing? He just nearly did… something bad, I guess, and he's going to be helping my head get all better?"

Pansy looked annoyed and walked up to Buffy, glaring at her. "He didn't just nearly do something bad. Get over that little misconception," she snapped. Draco returned her annoyed look.

"Pansy," he said with a warning, not wanting to deal with a magical cat fight on his hands as well.

"Oh shut up. I'm protective of the little git, all right?" Pansy crossed her arms and pouted. She didn't mention that the little blonde had been eyeing her in jealousy all night. Seemed someone had a crush on Draco. Pansy didn't like that.

Harry looked between Draco and Pansy. "Thanks. I think," he said, causing Draco to snort. The blond walked over to Buffy.

"Like it or not, Potter will be helping. He's going to ground us."

Willow looked between Draco and Buffy with confusion. She walked up to them with a nervous smile. "Um, no offense or anything," she stated, talking to Harry, then turned back to Draco, "but I thought addicts were terrible grounders because they couldn't keep focus?"

Draco nodded. "And in any other instance, I'd agree with you, but Potter here is different. While his mental barriers may be hell at the moment, he's still got something going for him." At the expectant looks, he smirked. "Try to possess him."

Willow instantly paled and backed away from him. "No! I may manipulate people into doing things, but I strictly draw the line at possession." Buffy went to Willow and glared at Draco, who was still smirking. Pansy walked up to Harry, who was standing around, obviously uncomfortable.

"It doesn't matter if you possessed people on daily basis, you wouldn't be able to crack into him. The most powerful magical entity on the face of this planet has been the only one to possess Potter. He was fifteen, and he still managed to throw him off. He was fourteen when he threw off the Imperious curse, which forces the person upon which the curse is put to do anything the caster wishes."

Willow wasn't as cautious, but she looked at Harry in a new light. "How is that possible?"

Harry finally spoke up. "It's a very long story involving a love sacrifice and magical transfers. Can I tell it later? I'm rather thirsty and will need to sit down after a while."

Draco noticed his hands clenched into fists and the slight tremble in his voice. He immediately conjured a glass of water and moved Harry to a seat. Willow walked over, twisting her hands nervously.

"Will he be okay?"

Draco took the wand in his hand and conjured a light on the tip, flashing it in front of Harry's eyes.

"His pupils are still dilated," he stated. "The magic is dispersing. It takes longer with him because of all the barriers it has to pass through. He's gets the first shock, and then a second wave." Willow reached forward to feel his head, but Draco grabbed her wrist. "Don't. You'll get the backlash."

"It's still transferable?" she asked in shock.

"Anyone with a high magical core would get backlash right now."

"And again I repeat," Buffy said, her tone indicating her slight irritation, "I still don't understand why i_he's/i _doing my healing."

"i_He/i_ isn't. I am," Draco said, returning the tone. "He's grounding us, and if it wasn't him grounding us, it'd be Willow, who is in the same boat Potter is. Do you have a problem with her doing the damned grounding?"

There was a tense silence while Draco and Buffy stared each other down.

"You're the expert," she said, backing down. Draco kept his hardened gaze fixated on Buffy as she left the living room and walked into the kitchen, followed by Willow.

There was silence, except for Harry's deep breathing. Xander turned to Giles.

"I'm sensing tension, and something tells me this isn't the sort of tension I'd like to stick around to see resolved. I'll be back for the re-group."

Giles nodded. "I think that might be for the best."

Draco looked up as well. "If you could take Dawn with you, I'd be appreciative."

"I'm sure Buffy would appreciate it as well," Giles added.

The brunette had been quiet in the corner until her named had been spoken. "Hey! Why can't I stay?"

Pansy knelt beside Harry's chair when Draco stood up. "Because the healing isn't going to be pretty. We have to do some talking and meditating tonight, and tomorrow when it times come to heal Buffy, it's not going to be like your healing or Willow's. It's not the same circumstances."

Dawn folded her arms and was clearly confused. "I don't get it. Willow and I just went to sleep though."

"And I just said it's not the same circumstances," Draco said in an agitated tone. Giles put a hand on the wizard's shoulder to calm him. His other hand went in his pocket and he sighed.

"Buffy will not be asleep for part of her healing." Giles paused, looking Dawn straight in the eye. "She'll be in a lot of pain."

"We both will," Draco added, his breathing harsh. Giles squeezed his shoulder in comfort, walking over to Dawn.

"It will be better if you aren't here. I don't want you to be put through that. Know that she will be all right, and she'll see you in a few days. Pack for five days, and I'll let Buffy know."

Tears started forming in Dawn's eyes. She swallowed a few times, trying to control her breathing. Uncrossing her arms, she fidgeted under Giles' gaze. "Pain? Like 'Ouch, I have a paper-cut' or…" she trailed off.

"She'll be experiencing the pain from her jump into the portal until the time she woke up in her…" Giles trailed off, taking a deep breath. "… in her coffin."

"Oh! But-but she was in heaven. So, there's no pain there, right?" Dawn hurriedly asked, becoming excited. Her hope was dashed when Draco walked up next to Giles and shook his head. His eyes were sad.

"Not all pain is physical. She'll be going back with me, and she'll have to experience coming back all over again."

Everyone was quiet as they watched the young woman in front of them crumble. Tears spilled onto her cheeks and she took deep gasping breaths, hugging herself tightly.

"But once was enough," she said in-between sobs. A hand reached out from behind her and clasped her shoulder, turning her around. Buffy gave her sister a sad smile and tears of her own fell from her eyes.

"It was," she agreed. "But I have to do this. I'm too vulnerable with my mind open, and I would never, i_ever/i_ forgive myself if something happened to you because I didn't take the necessary precautions. I've died for you, Dawnie." Buffy pulled her into a hug, and the teen grasped her tight and cried into her shoulder. "And I'll do it again, just so I can protect you. Because I will protect you, no matter what."

The room was silent except for Dawn's crying, and Buffy pulled back after a moment, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Be strong, Dawn. I'll see you in a few days. I'm coming back."

Dawn nodded and she slowly walked up the stairs and turned towards her room. Buffy crossed her arms and sent a grateful look at Xander. "Thank you for taking her. I don't want her to be here for this. She's seen and heard too much already."

Xander walked over to Buffy and gave her a hug. "Anything for the Buffster."

Buffy went back into the kitchen with Willow. Dawn could be heard above them, getting her bags ready. A few moments later, she came down the stairs. Xander grabbed her luggage and took them outside to his car. Giles hugged Dawn, who waved a small goodbye to everyone and then headed out the door.

Buffy and Willow walked back in to the living room from the kitchen as they heard Xander's car drive off. Buffy broke the silence.

"So! Buffy's healing. We're getting started as soon as possible, right?" she asked nervously.

Pansy nodded grudgingly. "I'll take you through some meditation tonight, so you'll be rested for tomorrow, physically and mentally."

Buffy grimaced, knowing that she would only be meditating on thoughts Pansy might not like. "And emotionally?"

"That's up to you," Pansy replied with a bit of a bite in her tone.

They all stood around for a moment, before Willow piped up, "Oh! Rooming assignments! Draco's been staying in Buffy's room so he's… close, while Buffy's been in the master bedroom with me, and Dawn's been in her own room and Giles has taken over the basement but do we need to arrange something?"

Pansy smirked. "Draco, Harry and I will stay in the same room." She wrapped her arm around Draco's waist possessively. He just rolled his eyes.

"Everything can stay the same except Wills and I will stay in my room and you three can take the master bedroom," Buffy said with a nod, ignoring Pansy.

Harry crossed his arms and sighed. "And here I was thinking I'd stay away from your cold feet a bit longer," he said to Draco, who glared back.

"Like I adore you elbowing my sides through the night. Not to mention you snore."

"I do not!"

Pansy rolled her eyes as they continued to bicker. She turned to Buffy, Willow, and Giles. "Earplugs. That or silencing charms. They're the only reason I've managed to stay sane." When Draco managed a rather shrill i_I do not drool/i_, Pansy winced. "Think you're ready to relax? Meditation will do us all good right about now."

……………………

Pansy and Buffy sat on the bed facing each other. Both had their legs crossed with their palms resting on their knees. Buffy's eyes were closed while Pansy was staring at Buffy with intense concentration.

Buffy's breathing hitched, and Pansy narrowed her eyes.

"Calm, Buffy, calm. No thoughts, just calm." The slayer's breathing evened out again, and they were both quiet for a few moments. Pansy nodded in satisfaction. "All right, you have the basics down. The easiest way to focus yourself is to think of an element. Most think of earth or water."

Buffy's eyes popped open. "No water. Water is definitely not in the calm column for Buffy." At Pansy's raised eyebrow, the blond grimaced. "I sort of drowned once. So, water's not that calming unless I'm in a bathtub."

The witch crossed her arms. "How do you sort of drown? I'm unfamiliar with the concept of sort of dying."

"When I was sixteen, and I first came to Sunnydale, there was this vampire called the Master. It involves a lot of prophecies and neck biting, but the basics are I was unconscious and dropped in a large water puddle. Xander and Angel found me, and Xander gave me CPR, bringing me back. That was the first time I died."

Pansy just stared at her. "The first time?" Not giving Buffy any time to explain, she just shook her head and rubbed her temples. "You Americans are so bloody weird."

"Draco didn't tell you?" Buffy asked. "I've died twice. The first time I drowned, and the second time I fought a hell god, had to jump in a dimensional portal, and Willow brought me back two months later. He said that has a bit to do with why my aura isn't the way it's supposed to."

"I'll get the details later," Pansy said. Her focus turned back to Buffy. "Right now, we need to work on meditation. It's going to be critical when you do your healing tomorrow. Since water is out of the question, any other element you can think of? I suppose imagining being surrounded by the earth is out as well, being buried and all." She thought a moment. "Let's try something different. Forget the elements. Concentrate on what calms you. A person, or a situation."

Buffy tried to clear her mind and be calm, but it just wasn't working. Her thoughts kept zooming between Dawn's safety, the worry over her own healing, and the fact that the woman in front of her was the only thing between her and Draco. It also didn't seem like she was going to be taking her claws out of him anytime soon.

"Do you want this bloody healing or not?" Pansy snapped, and Buffy's eyes opened.

"Lay off, all right? I've got a lot of things on my mind." Buffy let out deep sigh and leaned against the headboard, crossing her arms.

"I've noticed," Pansy replied icily. "But you've got to focus or else Draco is just risking his life for you for no good reason. You should have had the sense to stay alive in the first place."

The slayer slowly sat up, her face stony. "I died so that my sister and the rest of my family could live. I gave up my life knowing that she was going to have a better life and not die while I stood by. I had the sense to keep my family safe, and if you want to criticize me for that, I will kick your ass out of my house faster than you can blink."

"You'd be dead before you could get to me, you harpy." Pansy's hand was clenched around her wand. "Ever since I've been here, you've been glaring at me. If my presence bothers you, I'll be happy to leave, but you need my help for when Draco heals you."

They kept up their glaring match until the tense silence was broken by a knock on the door. Harry peeked inside. "Mind if I take over for a minute, Pansy? Your righteous rage is giving me a headache."

The dark haired witch glared at him but obliged, getting off the bed and knocking into Harry's shoulder, making him roll his eyes when he closed the door.

"Sorry about her," he said as he sat in Pansy's vacated place. "She's a bit of a bitch to anyone who isn't used to her. Plus, she's more protective than anything about Draco."

"Why does that matter? He said they're not dating." Buffy leaned forward and put her chin in her hand, trying not to sound petulant.

"And they aren't," he confirmed, much to Buffy's surprise. "Draco and Pansy… they have a weird dynamic. They grew up together, were off and on through school, and continued that after school. They mutually broke it off after a few months and even though they still sometimes see other people, they always end up right back together."

Buffy tried to process what Harry was saying. "So why don't they just stay together if they go back to each other all the time? Get married and have babies. The whole nine yards or whatever measurement you wandly types measure with."

He shrugged. "I have no idea. I grew up with a background in monogamy, and infidelity was unacceptable. They grew up differently. It was okay to see other people as long as they knew about it in advance. Sometimes, they share."

Harry's face turned red as he realized just what he had revealed and quickly continued the conversation. "But for some reason they just… decide to separate for a while and there aren't any hard feelings. Personally, I don't understand it."

The blonde's eyebrows shot up when Harry started to blush when he mentioned the threesome, but didn't pursue it. "I don't get it either, but Draco and I aren't like that. There's chemistry, but it's not going to happen. I have too much to focus on. I also just got out of a very bad relationship. I'm not ready to head into a new one."

"I understand," Harry said, and Buffy knew that he did. They had dealt with a bit of the same things in life. "Now, let's see if I can help you meditate a bit. I know every trick because it took me a long time to figure out how to start, too. Bad experiences in the past."

"Do you mind explaining how you got to meditate?" When Harry started to look uncomfortable, Buffy rushed to explain. "I don't want to pry, but I just can't seem to figure out how to start."

Harry looked down at his hands. "Mine is strange. My story is the opposite of how you'd expect it to go. But I can tell it. Do you know about me and Ginny?" Buffy nodded. "Well, after Voldemort killed her, and all that hate came over me, I went after him so hard and fast I don't really remember much. I do remember that after I had killed him and I had this feeling that I knew unless I stopped magic altogether, the whole world would just continue in this horrible cycle of destroying all the good things. In one second, I realized that I needed to stop that cycle."

Slightly embarrassed, Harry looked up. "Obviously I went about it the wrong way, and I was stopped before I did any real damage, but that one second of knowing that I could do something right even though it was going to hurt—it always calms me down. Knowing that for one second I knew exactly what I needed to do, and I was okay with it. I can still help now, but the calm I felt in that one moment always matters to me."

Buffy was thinking through his story, and she smiled. "I've got it."

Harry nodded, a bit surprised. "Then, let's start."

……………………….

Buffy woke up slowly. It was a strange sensation. She was usually woken by a noise or was forced awake suddenly. This languid feeling was new. Buffy started to smile until she thought of what the day held. The smile fell off her face.

Sitting up, she looked around the master bedroom. The last thing she remembered was Harry talking her into a deeper trance. She must have fallen asleep. Not knowing if that was a good thing or a bad thing, she slowly moved to the side of the bed and stood up. Her legs held her weight and she realized she had been put into her pajamas.

She was moving slowly. Not because she couldn't move faster, but because it felt nice to move slowly. Like she didn't really have anything to worry about. Today would just be another day.

The door opened and she slowly looked from the open door to Draco, who was standing in the doorway.

"Go ahead and get ready for the day, like you normally would. Wear a halter shirt if you could, or something so your back is exposed. We'll need to have as much skin on skin contact as we can. As cute as you are, Pans would kill me if I suggested I go without my trousers."

Buffy grinned and for a moment imagined what that picture would be like. Making Pansy Parkinson green with envy was actually something she would like doing, but instead, she nodded. "Halter, check. Should I come downstairs when I'm done?"

Draco nodded and closed the door, leaving Buffy standing in the middle of the room, feeling more than apprehensive about the day.

"Bath first, then get dressed, and then you can worry," she told herself. "You'll be fine."

Buffy went into the hallway and into her own room. She could hear conversation downstairs. It was mostly light, but she didn't want to listen, worried about what the topic was. Instead, she went into her bathroom and started to draw a bath.

She went through her closet, picked out a pair of dark wash jeans, and found a black halter that she could easily leave untied in the back when it came time to do her healing.

After the long bath, she dried herself and decided to get ready as if nothing was amiss. She took the time to do her hair and make-up, and as usual, it took her forever to choose the right set of earrings. With the debate of silver or yellow gold running through her head, she random chose a set of hoop earrings, accepting the silver color. She dressed, added the jewelry, and looked over herself in the mirror.

"Just another day," she said to herself. "Just another wacky, strange day."

Buffy left her room and slowly walked down the stairs. She heard conversation in the kitchen, and walked in to see Draco, Pansy, Harry, Willow and Giles all gathered around the island.

"Hey Buffy," Willow said with a grin. "You look all rested."

"And that would be because I had rest last night. Go figure. I hear it's a craze sweeping the nation," she replied. Giles handed her a cup of steaming tea, and Buffy smiled at him in gratitude. "Thanks."

Pansy looked across the island and examined Buffy critically. "So, the meditation helped then?" She sounded a bit disappointed.

After taking a sip of her hot tea, Buffy nodded. "It really did. I don't remember falling asleep, though. Is that bad or—"

"It's good," Draco interrupted. "It means the transition from meditation to sleep was smooth enough to not be noticed. Was it easy to start your meditation?"

Buffy fidgeted a bit. "After a while. I couldn't use water or whatever, so I had to think of something else, otherwise my brain kept going ninety miles an hour. Harry helped out when he explained his."

Draco winced. "I'm honestly scared to ask, but what is your calming thought?"

The slayer smiled at Harry and looked down at her tea. "I think you'll see it. It's when I was up on the tower with Dawn, right before I jumped." When she looked up, Willow had tears in her eyes, and Giles was gripping his own mug tightly. "It's when I figured it out, that death was my gift. It was something I could do to give life to Dawn, my friends, to everyone. I knew that she would be okay. I knew i_I/i_ would be okay. That moment, even now, helps me remember…" she paused and took a deep breath. "It helps me remember a time when I so sure of myself, of who I was, and what my place was in the world."

Everyone was quiet as they pondered what they had heard. There was silence as everyone finished off their drinks and put their mugs in the sink. Giles cleared his throat and turned to Buffy.

"Willow and I are going to the woods nearby. I'll be helping her with her own meditation. The less chance for interruption in the house, the better. We'll stay at a hotel tonight and return tomorrow morning."

Buffy nodded and returned the hug Giles gave her.

"I'm so very proud of you," he whispered to her, making her smile.

"Thank you," she whispered back. Buffy then turned to Willow, who had tears rolling down her cheeks. "Hey now, no crying for Buffy. I'll be fine."

The red haired witch hugged Buffy as well. "I'm so sorry for ruining the calm." Buffy kept Willow in her arms and ran her hands up and down her back soothingly. "I'm so sorry."

"Stop apologizing, Will. You had no way of knowing, and either way, it's better that you did bring me back. I still have a place in the world; I'm still a protector. When I get back? I'll show you how protective I can be." Buffy pulled back and wiped Willow's tears away. "I'm going to help you, Willow. We all are. We'll both be fine."

Willow nodded and wiped the rest of her tears away. "Is it bad that the only thing I can think of to say is 'have fun'? It sounds better than 'try not to go insane'. At least it did in my head."

Buffy hugged her one last time. "I'll be fine. Now, go pack. You and Giles have fun in nature. Don't turn him into a squirrel. Then all the female squirrels will be after him because of his British accent."

She made a face and turned to Draco. "Do squirrels in England have a British accent?"

The wizard turned to Giles. "Why do you hate me so much? Why are you leaving me alone with that? British squirrels, Giles?"

Harry started to laugh. "Payback's a bitch."

Giles just clapped him on the shoulder as he and Willow left the kitchen, leaving Buffy with Pansy, Draco, and Harry. Draco looked to Pansy. "Want to get Potter set up in the master bedroom? I'm going to go over everything with Buffy."

The witch nodded and took Harry's hand, taking him upstairs. Buffy took a deep breath, staring down at her hands. Draco walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's sit," he said, gesturing to the dining room table. They both took a seat and Buffy looked expectantly at Draco. "Right, so the healing is going to be five part process. The first part will be getting into a deep enough trance. It's going to take time. One mind going this deep is hard enough, but two minds going to the exact same moment in time to alter an aura is very difficult. Once that part is over, we'll be in your mind, going back to the morning when you jumped into the portal. I'm not sure when we'll be exactly—if it'll be the moment of or an hour before."

Buffy nodded. "That's part two? What's part three?"

"Part three will be after the portal jump," Draco explained. "This is where I'm unclear. You say you don't remember much of what happened afterwards, and I'm guessing that's just part of the fact that the human mind isn't supposed to come back from it. I'm not even sure of the time flow there. We could be there a second or days. The changeover from part three to part four is where I'm working in the dark. I don't know if it'll be sudden or not. We'll have to wing it."

Draco took a deep breath. "Coming back from that place is going to be difficult on both of us. That's when I'll need you to really concentrate on your meditation. The calmer you are, the easier it'll be to fix your aura. Part of the reason your aura shattered when you came back was the shock. If I can lessen that shock even a bit, I'll consider this a success. The last part is going to be the most difficult for you, and when I'll be doing the most work. I'm not sure about the timing. I know that we'll come back to the earthly plane in your mind starting at the moment you came back. Whether you'll be in your coffin or not, I'm not sure. But I want you to remain calm. I can get us out of there without any problem or panic. From there, we'll work on getting back to this time."

Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, nodding when Draco was continuing on.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but I don't want you to go into this blind. We'll both be under a lot of stress, but you've got to keep a clear head," Draco stressed.

The slayer let out a deep breath. "I'm ready."

He stared at her for a few moments before nodding. "Then let's get started."


	14. Chapter 14

Author note: As promised, an extra chapter for Jacy's birthday and the awesome readers of the story. Big cliff-hanger at the bottom, so be warned. It's getting good people. Only six chapters left after this one!

…………………….

Draco and Buffy walked up the stairs slowly. It seemed with every step she took, Buffy's feet felt heavier and heavier. The urge to run down the stairs and out the door made her pause. Draco looked back at her when he noticed she wasn't behind him anymore.

_iFor Dawn_,/i she thought. i_You have to do this for her_./i

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Draco's hand held out to her.

"It's all right to be scared," he whispered.

Buffy told Dawn she'd die for her again, and she meant it. She would make that jump again and again if she had to, to keep her family and friends safe. With that knowledge, she calmed. A slow smile spread across her face.

"I know," she replied, equally as soft as she took his offered hand. They continued up the stairs together.

As they entered the bedroom, Harry was sitting at the foot of the bed, his legs crossed, facing the headboard. Buffy noticed that around the bed was a line of small white powder. She glanced at Pansy, who was standing outside the circle, but watching Harry. Part of her didn't want Pansy to be any part of this, since they hadn't really gotten off to a good start together. But Draco knew what he was doing, and she trusted him to do what was best.

"The salt is for protection and stabilization. Pansy's going to be monitoring Potter. He may be getting some emotional backlash from the two of us," Draco explained softly.

Buffy moved in front of him and observed Harry. His eyes were closed, and his face looked relaxed. His mouth was slightly open, and if she listened closely, she could hear him breathing. Harry's breathing was deep and even. Buffy would have thought he was sleeping sitting up until his eyes opened and turned to her.

"I'm ready," he said, and Buffy felt, more than saw, Draco nod. She did turn to look when she felt him move next to her. He was taking off his shirt and despite the serious nature of what they were doing, her eyebrows rose, making him smirk.

"I said skin on skin contact, remember? A heart to heart connection is one of the best grounding techniques, as is temple to temple."

Buffy watched as he entered the circle and sat on the bed, resting his back against the headboard and stretching his legs out a bit. She had to admire him for just a moment longer than necessary before she could almost feel the ocular fire Pansy was shooting at her. That didn't matter though, Pansy had made it more than clear that Draco was hers.

With a sigh, she put all her attention on Draco."Back to back then?"

"Having our bodies aligned is the best way to ground us."

She entered the circle and felt a tingling run up her spine. Assuming it was the magic and that it was normal, she climbed up on the bed and situated herself against Draco, her back against his front. Remembering her top, she leaned up and untied the string of her halter, but kept the cloth firmly against her front. After she repositioned herself, Draco brought his knees up.

"Put your feet on top of mine. Don't worry about them slipping; Harry's going to hold them there."

Buffy followed his instructions and like he said, Harry moved up on the bed, took their feet in his hands and rested them on his knees. She leaned against Draco, not realizing how tense she was until he rested her full weight against him. He took her hands in his, making fists with their combined fingers.

She let out a breath and tried to relax. Images of her dream came crashing into her mind. While they weren't in the same position, and they weren't even in the same bed, the contact between their skin still felt incredibly the same. Buffy didn't know if she'd be able to concentrate enough.

"Lean your head against my right shoulder," he whispered in her ear. They shuffled a bit on the bed until Buffy could rest her head against his right side. He brought his head down and touched their temples together, and immediately Buffy took in a breath.

She could tell the connection had started already. Their heartbeats started to beat together, quickly in nervousness and in fear of the unknown. Something seemed to melt over her. Almost as quickly as she felt it, she knew what it was - Draco's magic. Their feet felt like they were fused together, and Harry's hands felt heavy against them.

"Concentrate on your breathing, Buffy," Draco said in her ear. She closed her eyes and drew her thoughts to the meditation she went through the night before. "Nice and slow. Find your calm, and take me with you when you find it."

_iThe calm… find the calm…/i_

Draco knew the instant she was in her trance. It happened a lot sooner than he thought it would, and he took a quick breath in when he felt Harry tighten his hold on their feet. He sought out Pansy's eyes, and felt relief when she smiled at him.

………………………

Buffy still had her eyes closed, because the nauseous feeling wouldn't go away. When wind blew her hair, her brow furrowed, her eyes still shut tightly.

_iMy hair was up earlier._ /i

With a start, her eyes shot open and she took a deep breath through her nose when she saw the scene before her. She was on the tower.

Buffy's eyes widened when she looked straight in front of her. She really… was on the tower. Her first thought was that the robot hadn't been destroyed by Glory, and it was saving Dawn, because the other her was untying the ropes around Dawn's wrists.

A hand touched her shoulder and she quickly spun around, recognizing Draco. His face was expressionless.

"This is before the moment. This… this isn't my moment," she said numbly, shaking her head, watching the portal open. Buffy looked down. She was wearing the same clothes she had been wearing that night. The Buffy who had finally untied Dawn was so close… she only had to reach over Dawn's shoulder to touch her. "My moment is after. It's close, but not now."

Draco took her face in his hands and made her look at him. "It's disorienting, but just breathe." His eyes went from hers to the other Buffy, who had just moved closer to them. "They can't see you or hear you. You're looking in on the past, Buffy. Now turn around," he slowly spun her to face herself and her sister before leaning down to touch his temple to hers. "And tell me when the moment comes."

He didn't need to be told. It was clear by the look on Buffy's face when she turned to face Dawn again from staring at the portal. It was an awareness that cleared her eyes when she looked at Dawn. The teen's shoulders started to shake.

"Death is your gift," Buffy said as she started to take deep breaths in his arms. "Now," she whispered. Draco leaned forward to listen to what the other Buffy was telling her sister.

"Dawn, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will i_always/i_ love you. But this is the work that I have to do."

The Buffy in front of him hugged herself, and kept taking deep breaths. He strained to hear her words over the lightning and wind around them. Even though part of this was in her memory, they were still technically in the past where Buffy had died. The magic was dancing along his skin. It wasn't necessarily dark, but just very powerful. He'd never encountered a hell-goddess, but she made Voldemort seem like a tiny puppy in comparison.

He focused back on the present and kept listening to the words Buffy was telling her sister. Seeing this had to be incredibly hard on her.

"Tell Giles… tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I'm okay. And give my love to my friends."

Draco looked down over Buffy's shoulder and saw a single tear go down her cheek. She was mouthing the words the other Buffy was saying to Dawn. He turned his attention back to them.

"You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world… is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me."

He watched as Buffy kissed her younger sister's cheek, and then turned. Draco wanted to take a step forward and watch Dawn's face, but the teen's back was to them. He did see Buffy run and take a leap into the portal. He inched past the Buffy in front of him, and took her hand. He saw her eyes widen when he walked through Dawn as if she wasn't even there. Buffy followed him and they walked to the end of the tower walkway, staring down at Buffy's writhing body.

"It doesn't hurt," she said numbly, looking down on herself in the portal. She turned back to look at Dawn, and her heart broke when she saw her sister's crying face. The grief on Dawn's face was more painful than her memory of the portal.

"It will in a minute," Draco replied, turning to face her completely. He took both her hands in his and inched back to the edge. "Do you trust me?"

Buffy looked from her sister to Draco.

_iFor Dawn_./i

Nodding, she stepped into Draco's arms and took deep breaths when he wrapped his arms around her tightly. She didn't even notice the way they fit together as he tightened his hold on her.

"Remember, just breathe," he said. Buffy thought she felt him tremble a bit, before he started to lean back. "Breathe," he repeated. He didn't know if he was ready for this, but he would do it because Buffy needed it.

She let her weight fall with his, and there were two seconds of nothing but air, before pain erupted around them.

………………………

They both awoke at the same time. Taking in deep gasps of air, Draco winced when Buffy rolled off of him. Every bone in his body hurt. Even his teeth hurt. Breathing was hard as well, and he wasn't sure if moving would help the pain or just make it worse.

"Merlin. I'll never bitch about the Cruciatus again," he said, sitting up. So far, the pain hadn't gotten worse.

He turned to look at Buffy, who was staring in horror on his other side. The pain didn't seem to be affecting her like it had him. Draco spun around to see her friends gathered around her now lifeless body on the rubble.

"I don't, I don't remember this," she said, tears coming to her eyes. "Their faces, oh God, Giles."

Draco had to stand up quickly in order to grab her as she tried to rush past him. He leaned down to speak to her. If she at any time decided to push him away, she was sure to launch him across the lot. He hoped she was too emotionally exhausted.

"No, Buffy, this is not real. You're alive now, you know that. You've come back to them, and we are healing you."

Buffy still stared at her body. "Why am I still here? I'm dead now."

"But your aura is not," Draco explained. "Look at your body. See the light flashing over it? Your aura is trying to stay alive. It's still fighting. Until it dies we're here with it." He leaned down and made her turn around to face him. "You'll get sick of me saying this, but you need to be calm, and breathe."

He could see the hurt in her eyes, and tears fell down her cheeks. She turned around, still staring at her body. As she slowly walked towards it, Draco followed closely behind, holding onto one of her hands. Even though they couldn't feel or see her, she weaved through the people surrounding her body.

The flashing light over her body was more prominent now. Buffy turned around to look up at Draco.

"Can they not see it?"

He shook his head and she turned back around, her free hand outstretched. She kept inching toward her own body. Draco wasn't sure what would happen when she touched her current aura to her second one, but all he knew is he had to be ready to repair the aura before it shattered on her return to earth.

"I made the jump," Buffy said, starling Draco out of his thoughts. "I did it again and it hurt, but I think seeing their faces hurts more. Knowing that I have them to come back to helps." She looked confused for a moment, but never took her eyes off of her own face that was before her. "They'll be there, right? When I come back."

"Of course," he replied softly. Buffy nodded, and reached out, her hand touching her forehead. Draco was about to remind her that she couldn't touch anything here, but he didn't get the words out before both he felt something grab him around his middle and yank him hard… down.

………………………

The only thought going through Draco's head was that it i_hurt/i_ being pulled through concrete like that, even though it wasn't real. Through layers and layers of dirt and rock—it felt like he was raked through each until he reached open air. He opened his eyes, and even though it was complete darkness, he knew through his senses he was definitely falling down.

There was a groan beside him and he looked over, his eyes widening when he saw Buffy, with a transparent replica next to her. Buffy just woke and saw the double, and through the veil of hair that was whipping up around her face from their fall, he saw her scared expression on her face.

"Your aura, Buffy, don't worry."

Draco was trying to figure out what to do. Should he cast lightening charms on them to slow the drop or fire a cushioning charm to where they were headed? He didn't want to go so fast the charm shot them right back up again, though. With a sigh, he pulled out his wand and was about to cast a spell when a line of fire shot up between them, and they met each other's eyes in shock.

"I thought you said you went to heaven?!" Draco shouted. The cushioning charm was out, and the lightening spell would just make it harder to move around in the arm.

"I did!" Buffy shouted, looking around for something to grab onto. She definitely didn't remember any of this.

"In case you haven't noticed, i_this isn't fucking heaven we're heading to_!"/i

Another pillar of fire shot up on Draco's other side. He swore as he felt sweat beading on his brow. It was getting hot, much hotter than he had ever been in his entire life. The heat was affecting him more that it was affecting Buffy. He started to debate whether wandless magic would work here, when a shout from Buffy made him look over.

Her aura was starting to shimmer and fade. Draco's eyes widened in panic. This wasn't part of the plan. He had been planning on using the time in heaven to merge the two auras together so he could prevent the shatter when she returned. It would have given him time to properly align the old auras with her new aura.

"Well, I certainly hadn't planned on doing this en route to hell, but since nothing in my life seems to go the way I'd like it to…"

Draco grabbed Buffy's wrist in his own and pulled himself closer. He moved Buffy in front of her flickering aura and put his arms around both. It was hard to line them up properly since they were still in a freefall, but he managed to concentrate and start to merge the two auras. Closing his eyes, he started to take deep breaths.

His quickened his pace when the heat below him increased.

_iAlign at the heart, working outwards. Anchor the head and the soles of the feet. Smooth out the cracks, cool the warm spots. Weave it in, fill the holes. /i_

What he usually did in hours, he was trying to accomplish in seconds. Draco wasn't sure if it would help or hinder. He was starting to shake from the exertion, but Buffy's aura was nearly merged. His eyes were closed tightly and his teeth were clenched. The muscles of his back were tense.

_iFind the dark spots; fill in the holes. Weave it in. /i_

Buffy gasped, her eyes opening wide, when he was finished. He started to grin and check over his work when they both stopped falling.

Just as sudden as their descent downwards had been, they were both pulled up at double the pace they had been falling. The heat that had been at their backs was gone, replaced with a pleasant coolness.

Draco decided falling _up_ was a very strange sensation, especially since they had been heading to hell with their backs to it, and now it felt the same way with heaven. He looked over his shoulder and saw they were heading towards a light glow.

"This is more like it," he said with a grin that Buffy mirrored when he glanced over at her.

Their ascent ended when their backs hit something firmly, but not hard enough to damage anything. Draco blinked and realized the light yellow glow had turned to a light blue… that was strangely familiar.

"The sky?" he asked. Turning his head, he saw they had landed on their backs on the ground. He blinked in confusion. "This has to be the strangest experience of my entire existence. I fell up onto the ground."

Rolling over, he looked for Buffy. His jaw dropped when he saw her standing in front of her house.. After he stood, he jogged over to her.

"It's different this time," she said, never taking her eyes off of the house in front of her.  
"I'm… aware. When I left," Buffy paused to think. "When I left, I wasn't here. I was watching a movie in the old theatre downtown. I'm right where I was the first time. But where's the other me?"

Draco was speechless for a moment. "Your auras have merged. This is the first time you arrived, and there isn't a double. It's just you now." He looked around again before letting his eyes rest on Buffy. "This is your heaven? Your home?"

There was a serene look on Buffy's face as she stared at her house.

"Yeah, it is, with one exception."

The front door opened, and Draco's head quickly turned to see who it was. Half expecting Dawn or Giles to come through the door, he just blinked in shock when he saw the figure lean out the door.

"Buffy! Dinner! Oh, I didn't know you had a guest. I'll set the table for three."

The slayer smiled.

"Coming, Mom."

…………………….

… um, the end until next week. Don't hurt me. Please?


	15. Chapter 15

Author note: We are quickly coming to the end, guys. How weird is that? Just five more chapters and this baby is done!

Chapter fifteen took me over a year and a half to write. I couldn't get it out. I knew what I wanted to happen, and while this wasn't the hardest chapter of the fic to write, it was the most emotional. I was able to write it after my grandmother passed earlier this year, and I think my grief pretty much made the whole fic take a nosedive in the happy department.

My take on Buffy's heaven is not like any I've ever seen. It's simple, because I don't think Buffy would want anything complex. For those of you asking for Spike or Angel, sorry. They don't fit into my world at all. I love them both, but I couldn't stand Spike after he became Buffy whipped and season four of Angel destroyed my love for that character. As a result, I don't write them well.

Thanks to the wonderful reviews, and I hope you like this chapter. Things pick up and are very paced from here on out. I have a couple of more surprises up my sleeve, including three character appearances that no one is expecting. :)

As always, love to Jacy, my wonderful beta. Happy reading!

…………………….

Draco stared in shock as Joyce Summers smiled at him and went back into the house. He couldn't catch his breath. This was going to be much harder than he first thought. Belatedly, he realized Buffy was already half-way to the porch.

"Well? Are you coming?" she asked before turning back to the house.

He followed and met her at the front door, which was left open from when Joyce had opened it. Buffy slowly pushed it open all the way and stepped through. Draco followed and took a deep breath. Something was different, but he couldn't put his finger on what.

"It's just how I remembered. Completely perfect." Buffy walked over to the stairs and smiled when she inspected the railing.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked, making sure his tone wasn't mocking. This was going to be a very difficult time for Buffy, and if he could make it easier on her, he would.

Buffy rubbed her hand along the wooden banister. "There are no nicks in it. The wood is smooth. At…" she paused, thinking of the right words, "Back at home there, every time I walk down the stairs I feel a mark or a scratch and remember some demon or vampire or some fight that happened that knocked me against the wood. Here, there are no slices from swords or rough spots from stakes. There are no blemishes. It's like it never happened."

Draco stared in silence at Buffy, who was still feeling the cold banister. When her eyes moved from the stairway to the living room, his own eyes followed and he began to notice differences. The furniture was brand new, without any marks. The window hadn't been repaired numerous times with various marks on the wood. The curtains didn't have scorch marks and there were various breakables around the room that wouldn't have been put out if this had been the other Sunnydale.

Then he began to notice other things that were missing. Pictures. In the other house, there were photo frames scattered everywhere. Here, the only photographs were of Buffy and her mother. There was no Dawn, no Giles, no Willow, and no Xander.

Suddenly, he realized what had been different about the house. There was no magic here. It was completely Muggle in every way. There were no protection charms, no flow of magic, no fingerprints from Willow's magic on the walls. It felt oddly bare.

"It really is like it never happened," he murmured, looking back at Buffy. She was staring at the living room as if it was foreign, her hand on the doorway the only thing holding her up. "Buffy? Are you all right?"

"I don't want to go back," she said softly with tears in her eyes. "It's going to hurt too much. Please don't make me. Don't make me go back."

Her cries broke Draco's heart and he couldn't find the breath to respond. It was almost as bad as Harry's cries after Ginny had been possessed and killed. The pleas to let him kill himself had been unbearable in the beginning. He was tempted to give in just to stop her tears.

Draco was saved from having to reply when Joyce appeared behind Buffy. The concern on her face was intolerable, and he had to look away.

"Buffy? What's wrong?"

He heard Buffy let out a sob and had to close his eyes in pain. Draco glanced up when he heard shuffling feet. Joyce had turned Buffy around to face her and had her daughter's face cupped in her palms.

"Tell me what's wrong, Buffy."

Buffy took a deep breath and attempted to calm down. The tears slowed. "I'm just really glad to be home, Mom."

Draco finally gathered the courage to speak to Joyce and stepped up behind Buffy, not missing the accusing glance that was sent his way. It was actually a look he was used to from mothers, but in the current context, it nearly made him wilt. "It's just been a really hard journey, and I know Buffy's relieved to finally be here."

Joyce's protective demeanor didn't calm with his words, and he honestly hadn't expected them to help. Buffy stepped away from her mother and wiped the tears from her eyes. "He's telling the truth, Mom. I guess I'm just a little emotional."

He couldn't help it. Draco snorted. Buffy elbowed him in the stomach, and when he looked up, Joyce's mild glare almost made him wince. Looks like he was getting off to the same start he got with most mothers he met.

Buffy seemed to notice the tension between her mother and Draco. "You said you were setting the table? What's for dinner? Do you need any help?"

Joyce kept staring at him for a few moments before turning to her daughter with a smile. "No thanks. You two just sit down at the table and I'll be right there. What would you like to drink—oh, what terrible manners I have." Her behavior completely changed as an easy smile graced her face and she held out her hand. "Joyce Summers. Buffy's mother, but you already knew that."

Draco smirked as he lifted the hand Joyce meant for a shake to his lips. "Pleasure, Mrs. Summers. Draco Malfoy."

His antics worked beautifully. Buffy rolled her eyes and her mother blinked in surprise. The manners never ceased to soften the coldest of glares.

Joyce pulled her hand back slowly and Buffy sighed. She waved her hand in front of her mother's face to get her to focus. Joyce quickly composed herself. "Well, what can I get you to drink, Draco?"

"Water will be just fine. I don't want to inconvenience you, Mrs. Summers," he replied with a charming smile.

"Oh please, Draco, call me Joyce." She smiled at him and went back towards the kitchen.

As her mother started to leave, Buffy huffed. "I'll take a water too, Mom!" She didn't know if her mother even heard her. She turned to Draco with a glare. She'd never seen her mother get so flustered about a boy, and this was heaven. Could she even have naughty thoughts about one of her daughter's friends? What kind of heaven was this? "How the hell did she go from hating you one minute to oogling you the next one?"

"It's a gift," Draco said flippantly as he went into the dining room. "Don't worry, it's only temporary. She'll go back to hating me during the second course of dinner." If he looked down the small hallway, he could see Joyce working in the kitchen. The dining room itself looked spotless with a newer addition. There was a hutch filled with delicate crystal china, something that wouldn't have lasted a day in the current time.

"Well don't use it on my mother. It's icky." Draco sent her an amused glance and went back to looking around. When Joyce started to bring in food, Buffy went to the bottom of the stairs to yell for Dawn to come down. She paused with one hand on the smooth banister and stopped. Draco was staring at her with pity in his eyes and Buffy hated it. So she had forgotten it for a moment. She'd forgotten she was in heaven. If there was one thing she didn't need right now it was pity.

"Buffy?" Joyce asked as she looked into the foyer. "What are you doing?"

Not wanting to give away the truth, Buffy flashed a small smile at her mother and went back into the living room. "Nothing, Mom. I just debated going upstairs to change but decided what I'm wearing is fine."

If Joyce thought this out of place, she didn't show it, and the three of them sat in an uneasy silence through the first course of the dinner, which was a light salad. Draco was two bites into the main course when Joyce broke the silence.

"So, Draco, I noticed your accent. What brings you to America all the way from Britain? I'm assuming your British," Joyce asked nonchalantly.

Draco's eyebrow went up when he looked at Buffy, who just made a face at him. He had done this often enough to know when a mother's curiosity could no longer be contained.

"Yes, ma'am, I'm British. My family hails from Wiltshire. It's located in southwest England. Stonehenge and Salisbury are actually in Wiltshire. It's beautiful country. As for my trip to the States…" he trailed off, looking at Buffy. Draco couldn't very well say Giles had brought him over, or that he was first here to help Willow with her dark magic addiction. He also had no prior knowledge of Buffy's life before the day he arrived except for the bare basics. Saying they met earlier and were reuniting was too risky.

"He's here because I asked him to be, Mom," Buffy quickly interrupted. She'd been thinking about what to say to this question, and she could only hope she pulled it off. "I'm, well, I'm sick. It's nothing serious, though."

Joyce's attention when from Draco to Buffy immediately and she put her fork down. "Buffy, why didn't you tell me? Why would you keep your health from me like that?"

"I didn't want you to worry, Mom, and it's not that bad. I should be good as new in a few months. Besides, Draco's the best specialist for this area. I mean, he flew all the way from England."

Draco interrupted her before she dug the lie too deep. "It's true, Mrs. Summers. I wouldn't be here if I didn't know with absolutely certainty that I could help, and I can. You have nothing to worry about."

Joyce didn't look convinced. Her eyes flip-flopped between Buffy and Draco. Worry was clear on her face. "I don't know. What's wrong, exactly? And how are you paying for this?"

"Dad's paying," Buffy interjected quickly, knowing her mother wouldn't even try to contact Hank to make sure it was the truth, even if she could do so in heaven. If this was her heaven, Hank Summers sure as hell wasn't in it.

"And this is just a precaution," Draco said, catching on to the lie Buffy was telling. "Your daughter hasn't gotten sick i_yet/i_. Mr. Summers contacted me as a preventative measure. You really have nothing to worry about."

After pondering what they said and giving them both a long stare, Joyce went back to eating dinner. While she was looking down at her plate, Buffy and Draco shared a look of relief. That was too close for either of them.

"And you'll be staying in a hotel for the duration of this visit?" she asked after a moment, and Draco froze. He'd just assumed he'd be staying at the Summers' house, because he'd gotten a good look at some of the local hotels. He'd rather sleep on a couch than sleep in those hell holes, and he _hated_ sleeping on couches.

"Mom, don't be ridiculous. He's staying here. What if I need him in the middle of the night or something?"

Draco quickly pulled a spoon he had yet to use under the table. Hoping that this heaven didn't mess up his magic, he pulled the wand from use arm holster and held it under the table. Using non-verbal magic, he transformed the spoon into his fail-safe back-up plan.

Joyce gave her daughter a look that said she knew exactly what Buffy was trying to pull. "You'd need him in the middle of the night? For what, Buffy?"

Buffy froze. She was on the spot and couldn't think of anything to say. That had come out terribly wrong. If she denied it too quickly, it would be damning, and if she didn't deny it, her mother would throw a terrible fit.

To her surprise, Draco started to laugh. "You have nothing to worry about, Mrs. Summers. I'm already taken." Draco help up his left hand and showed off a shining silver wedding band.

Buffy's jaw dropped as she looked at the ring. Draco wasn't married, so where had he gotten the ring? Had he been saving it for when he and Pansy tied the knot? It looked natural on his finger, like it was made to sit there.

Joyce smiled brightly. "Oh how wonderful! What's her name?"

This time, Draco was the one that froze. He hadn't really thought that far ahead, and by Buffy's look, she was waiting just as much as her mother to hear who he was apparently married to. Saying Pansy would bring about horrid results with Buffy and he didn't dare risk naming someone from Sunnydale in case Joyce remembered. He knew he was going to regret this.

"Blaise," he replied, and watched in satisfaction as Buffy started to choke. "Her name is Blaise."

"Oh how nice," Joyce said, oblivious to Buffy surprise. "Do you have any children?"

Draco did not like where this conversation was going, but since he was already going to hell for claiming to be married to Blaise, he figured he should go all the way. "Twins. Little hellions, actually. Pansy and Harry."

Buffy couldn't hold in the laughter any longer. Joyce was mortified on her daughter's behalf and quickly admonished her for laughing. Not wanting to delve into possible embarrassing topics again, Joyce turned back to her dinner, and Buffy and Draco proceeded to glare and mouth insults to each other when she wasn't looking. Dinner finished quickly, with less awkward conversation, and the plates were put away. Buffy and Draco went into the living room since Joyce insisted upon doing the dishes herself, and letting Buffy entertain their guest. What actually happened is they glared at each other the entire time they sat on the couch, arms crossed and shoulders tense.

When Joyce entered the living room, Draco quickly rose to his feet. Buffy followed at a slower pace, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I have an early day at the gallery tomorrow, so I'm going to retire for the night. Draco, you're welcome to the guest room while you're here. Buffy can show you where everything is."

"Of course. Thank you for the wonderful dinner, Mrs. Summers, and for the warm hospitality," Draco said with a smile that Joyce returned. "Have a pleasant evening."

Buffy and Draco watched as Joyce went up the stairs and waited until the door to the master bedroom closed. Buffy turned to him and mocked, "_Have a pleasant evening_."

"Oh sod off."

"i_Hi, my name's Draco and I'm married with twins_./i"

Draco sighed and started towards the stairs. "Shut i_up/i_, Summers. I did the best I could under the circumstances."

"Yeah, which include somehow getting a wedding ring," Buffy said as she followed. They quieted their voices as they neared the top of the stairs. "Where the hell did you get that anyway?"

He motioned into her bedroom and closed the door, pulling out his wand and putting up a silencing charm. If anything, his magic was much more responsive in this heaven, and he was grateful for it. It would make his job much easier. When Draco turned back to Buffy, her arms were crossed and she was tapping her foot impatiently. Undoing the transfiguration charm on the ring, it quickly turned back into a spoon.

"You made a wedding ring out of a spoon?"

"Obviously," Draco said. "Now, I want to check how I did on your aura before you go to sleep tonight. I was so rushed I don't know if I got everything."

Buffy sat on the bed when Draco motioned her to and he sat across from her. "You might fall asleep, or feel really drowsy. That's normal. And you might feel a little warm."

She waited while he got situated on the bed and took a deep breath. No matter how much she trusted him, she was always nervous when magic was done on her.

But she didn't have to worry anymore, because she closed her eyes and felt warmth and comfort. She was safe, and she could sleep.

………………………….

They'd been in this place for a little over a month, and it was driving Draco mad. He still played the courteous guest when Joyce Summers was around, but it was getting harder and harder to remind Buffy why they were here, and that they would be returning home in three weeks. At the beginning of their time here, Buffy claimed time moved exactly the same as it did on earth as it did in her heaven. She had been dead two months, and had been in heaven two months.

The time was affecting her. Draco had dropped Pansy's name a few days earlier, and was met with a curious glance and an inquiry on who it was he was talking about. That worried him. Saying Dawn and Willow's names still brought recognition, but it was becoming harder and harder for her to remember the details.

But for all the bad parts, Draco could see a real change in Buffy. Without the worry of the supernatural, her life was more controlled and normal. She didn't go on patrol, she didn't sneak out late at night. In this heaven, she worked with her mother at the gallery part time, and relaxed the rest. Draco had accompanied them, with Joyce delighting in his knowledge of fine arts. It was during these times that Joyce confined in him about Buffy.

Small insights into Buffy's younger years were revealed. Where the weapons and magic books were kept in the house at Sunnydale, an upright piano was pushed against the wall in heaven. Joyce claimed she wanted Buffy to learn piano as a way to funnel her anger into something positive after leaving Los Angeles, but her daughter didn't have the patience to learn.

Buffy had been a cheerleader in Los Angeles, but didn't like to dance anymore unless it was without thought in a club. The Bronze was still open in Sunnydale, but it seemed here there was no such club. In fact, Buffy didn't have any friends here, and it seemed she liked it like that.

It was this knowledge that led him lurking around the city while Buffy and Joyce were working at the gallery one afternoon. The town was vastly different than the brief glimpses of Sunnydale he remembered. There had been no apocalypses to contend with, and demons didn't pillage the town when they thought they had a chance. The original high school still stood, and the Magic Box was back to its original state before Willow had destroyed it.

There was only one cemetery, and it was familiar to Draco. It was the one he'd been bitten in and also the one Buffy was buried in over a year ago. Weaving through the tombstones and mausoleums, he came to stop in shock.

Buffy's tombstone was still here.

The ground wasn't fresh, and the tombstone looked like it had weathered a bit. Draco ran his hands over the stone and knelt down, feeling the grass. Unlike the other places in the town, magic danced along the grass and dirt. He could see it weaving through the soil and rock below, making a loop over Buffy's name carved into the stone.

Standing abruptly, Draco knew how he'd make her remember and focus on why they were here.

……………………….

Joyce was in bed and so was Buffy, but as Draco crept out from the guest bedroom, he saw the light in the master bedroom on underneath the door. With a wince, he cast a silencing charm on the floor so he wouldn't make a noise. It had taken him a week to prepare for putting his plan into motion. Getting Buffy out of the house was harder than he imagined, and with her and her mother attached at the hips, it was difficult, to say the least.

As he slipped into Buffy's room, he cast another silencing charm and moved about freely. Buffy was asleep in her bed, and sleeping peacefully. It made what he was doing so much harder.

Draco shook her away and had to duck the punch that was thrown his way. She might not be a slayer in heaven, but she still had the reflexes for it. He waited for her to properly wake up before starting. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the light, and Draco didn't miss the momentary panic in her eyes.

She was starting to forget him. It was taking her longer to remember his name, and that seemed like that was all she could remember. He'd pulled out his wand to do a charm the other day and Buffy stared at it like she'd never seen him with it before. She was forgetting magic even existed.

"Draco? What's going on?" she asked, her question finishing with a yawn. "Go to bed."

"No," Draco replied, his voice steely. He already knew he was going to have to be harsh. "You're forgetting the entire reason I've risked my life to do this, and I'm going to remind you."

She sensed the change in his tone and acknowledged it with a frown. "What are you talking about? You're here helping mom with the gallery. I don't need to be reminded."

His eyebrow went up. She had completely forgotten everything.

"I'm here to save you, remember? Potter and Pansy are grounding us. Giles took Willow to meditate and Xander took your sister, Dawn."

His words only confused her more. "Who are you talking about? _What_ are you talking about? Did you drink tonight? Let me get mom. She'll help."

When Buffy got out of the bed, Draco grabbed her arm in a steel grip as she passed. If he had done so in Sunnydale, she would have thrown him across the room. Instead, she only looked at him in shock with a bit of fear thrown in.

"Let go of me," Buffy said slowly, but Draco refused. He pulled out his wand and brought Buffy close. She started to fight against him, but he strengthened his hold and Apparated them to the graveyard.

Buffy stumbled from his grasp and fell back onto the grass. He wasn't prepared to feel her blind panic and terror, something he'd never seen her show. It made the shadows darken around them and the air heavy with dread. For a small moment, Draco closed his eyes and let the horror coil around him. The juxtaposition of the place they were in and her emotions waged a war inside of him. He could taste the fear and dread as it rode along the breeze and brushed his cheek.

He snapped his eyes open and took a deep breath to calm himself. He hadn't gotten that close in a long time, not since he'd found Amy. It almost hurt to push it away.

"What are going to do to me?" Buffy asked nervously, her back against the tombstone. "Why would you bring me here, of all places, when you i_know/i_ how I feel about it!"

Draco was confused. "What are on about? It's a graveyard. Merlin knows you've spent enough time in them."

"No! They terrify me! Can we go? Please? I promise I'll never tell mom you brought me here or how we got here or anything." The terror he felt was real, and it puzzled Draco more than he cared to admit.

"No, I brought you here for a reason. You've forgotten. You've forgotten everything, and now I see why it was so hard when you came back from the dead. I'm going to rectify that. We may be in your heaven, but in two weeks we have to go back to your hell. You need to be ready."

Buffy's breathing was coming in shallow, ragged pants. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not dead. I'm alive. I'm here with mom and I'm alive."

Draco crossed his arms and motioned behind Buffy. She slowly turned to see the tombstone she had been leaning against. When she read the name, she let out a small scream and scurried away as quickly as she could. When she finally found her footing and tried to run away, Draco grabbed her by the arms and turned her around to face the headstone. i_Her/i_ headstone.

"You died, Buffy. You died to protect your sister, your friends, and the world. But they couldn't let you stay dead, so Willow brought you back. But it wasn't finished. In order to protect them yet again, I'm helping you."

Buffy fought against him, her strength leaving her as tears started to form in her eyes. Draco just tightened his grip.

"But you're forgetting, and so I'm here to help you remember. This was you, Buffy, but you're going back, whether you like it or not, and if you don't start focusing on why we're here, it'll be hell all over again. Now, does any of this ring any bells?"

It was quiet in the graveyard except for Buffy's crying. When Draco felt all of the strength leave her, he stopped holding her close and she fell to her knees. When her crying stopped, Draco noticed something strange. All the magic that had been on the grave was now weaving itself around Buffy.

He could see it spinning around her, the golden light arching up from the ground and entwining itself around her. In a sudden blaze, the magic was gone, all traces of it removed from the earth, but Draco noticed something different about Buffy.

Her shoulders tensed and her spine straightened. Draco slowly backed away and gave Buffy her space. She quickly stood and dusted her pajama pants off where she had fallen. After a few moments of staring at the grave, Buffy turned.

Who he saw in front of him was not the woman he'd been staring at the past few weeks. This was Buffy Summers, the Slayer. She was the reason he was here. "Thanks. Let's do this."

Draco nodded and the two of them started to walk away from the grave. Suddenly, Buffy lashed out and punched him in the arm. "Son of a i_bitch/i_, what was that for?" he asked as he rubbed his bruised arm.

"For kidnapping me in the middle of the night, you freak," Buffy retorted as she kept walking.

He just rolled his eyes and followed.

…………………………….

In the two weeks since Buffy had re-awoken, they'd accomplished a lot. Draco was satisfied that Buffy's aura was back to the way it should be, and her mind was sharp as ever. He claimed it was almost as difficult to penetrate as Harry's and that was a feat in and of itself.

But today was a difficult day. Today was the day they returned. Since she knew it was coming, when her mother asked if she wanted to go to the movies, Buffy declined. Draco was giving her space, and she appreciated it. Because today she had to do what she'd never had the chance to do. Say goodbye to her mother.

Glancing at her watch, it was almost time. Her mother was preparing dinner in the kitchen, and Buffy walked in slowly. "Mom? I have something to say really quick before I go."

Joyce turned around with a smile on her face. "Going somewhere? Oh, if you're going downtown, I need you to take some things by the gallery for me."

Buffy shook her head and tried not to cry. "No mom. I'm not leaving for a few minutes. I'm going to _go_. As in away. As in I don't know when I'll be back."

Her mother's face slowly went from amiable to concerned. "Buffy, I don't like this. You know I hate it when you joke around about leaving again. Don't do this to me a second time."

"You know I wouldn't joke about running away. I don't have a choice, Mom." Buffy walked into the kitchen fully and stopped in front of her mother. "I have a gift that was given to me, and even though it was the best gift I've ever gotten, I have to return it."

Joyce just smiled at her again. "Oh, Buffy. The mall is closed today, you know that. You're being a little melodramatic about a simple return, aren't you?"

Buffy was getting frustrated. "No, Mom. It's not that kind of gift. You don't understand."

"Buffy." She looked to her right and Draco was standing in the doorway. She was running out of time. With a deep breath, she turned back to her mother.

"I love you, Mom. I always have. I wish we couldn've spent more time together. You were gone too quickly. Raising Dawn has been hard. I didn't think I'd get through it. And I couldn't do it like you could. I don't know how you managed to raise me through the circumstances, but you did. I just wish you would have been there to help after I came back. It would have been easier."

To both Draco and Buffy's surprise, Joyce's smile became sad. "Oh sweetie, you did just fine. Dawn's growing up to be an amazing woman, and you did your best with Willow. She's getting the help she needs now, and that's what's important."

Buffy stared at her mother in shock. "You… knew? This whole time?" She was taking deep breaths and trying not to have a heart attack. "How? Why didn't you…?"

"Of course I did." Joyce smoothed a tear away from her daughter's cheek. "I've always watched out for my baby girl. Just because I wasn't there in person didn't mean I wasn't watching everything you did in spirit."

Buffy paused and sent her mother a slightly nervous look. "Wait, i_everything/i_?"

Joyce pretended to think but eventually smiled. "Well, almost everything. Some things are private."

She sighed in relief. "Thank God."

Joyce and Buffy laughed before they were interrupted by Draco's slight cough. They both sobered and turned to each other. "When you're done being the protector, I'll be here waiting to protect you."

Buffy's tears returned at her mother's words. "I don't want to go."

"I know, sweetie, and I don't want you to either, but I know you'll come back to me someday. And until then, you be brave and you live. For me."

Buffy gave her mother a hug that probably hurt, but Joyce didn't protest and hugged her back just as hard. When they separated, Joyce smiled at Draco. "You take care of my baby girl, and give Blaise my best."

Draco winced as the two women laughed. "Blaise isn't—"

"Oh I know, but the story was very amusing."

They all laughed and went to the front door. With another goodbye hug to both of them, Joyce opened the front door and the two walked out. When the door closed behind them, Buffy felt the breath leave her lungs.

Draco turned to her with his own sigh. "Are you ready? Put your back to me, just like we did before we left."

Buffy looked up at the house one last time before closing her eyes and stepping back into Draco's arms. She felt the hum of his magic and felt their connection zip up her spine. After taking a deep breath, she felt the air get knocked out of her lungs, and then nothing but darkness.

……………

Draco coughed as he landed on the ground on his back. "Well, while that was a better way of getting here than the way we left, it still isn't all that pleasant."

He stared up at the midnight sky and the twinkling lights, waiting for Buffy to reply. When it was still quiet, his quickly turned his head to both sides before sitting up. She was nowhere around. Panic started to set in. Something had gone wrong.

As he stood and spun around to look for her one last time, he paused. In front of him was Buffy's gravestone, and Draco started to shake when he realized he could faintly hear screams coming from below the earth.

…………….

End of chapter. Don't kill me? Please?


	16. Chapter 16

Author note: I'm so, so sorry guys, for not getting this out. I was going to update Wednesday, but a sudden death in the family that morning pretty much derailed life for a moment. I just now got around to checking my calendar and got the notice that the chapter was late, so I'm posting it. I'm not going to proof-read it, so if there are mistakes, sorry.

And have a Merry Christmas.

……………………

Draco dropped to his knees, his breathing erratic. He had mentally planned for many things when he and Buffy returned, but not this. One of his thoughts had been that they'd be in the coffin when they came from heaving, but he'd planned on being inside of it with her. Apparating out would have been easy and quick.

His mind was trying to figure out a way to work around this problem. He wasn't going to wait for her to crawl out of her grave another time, but magically digging down through the ground would take too long, and he could easily miscalculate where the new coffin was they placed after Buffy returned.

Swallowing nervously, he knew the only way to get her out quickly would be to attempt Apparating inside of the coffin, get a grip on Buffy, and Apparate back at. The consequences if he miscalculated were deadly, but it was the only way.

With a deep breath, he pulled out his wand and dug his hands into the earth on top of the grave. The magic was upset, knowing that Buffy was not supposed to be in the coffin, but it couldn't do anything for her. Draco pinpointed on Buffy as close as he could and held his breath as he Apparated.

The next thing he knew, he was in a cramped coffin, lying on a hyperventilating slayer who was clawing at the wooden sides and dirt that crept in from where she'd punched her way through. Draco held onto her as hard as he could and concentrated on the ground above. With a pop, they were lying on the undisturbed earth above Buffy's grave.

They both were taking deep, gasping breaths as Draco rolled off of Buffy. After a quick glance to make sure he hadn't splinched them, he let his head fall back with a thud. He closed his eyes in relief and decided that he would always have a fear of being buried alive after this encounter.

"So much for breathing and staying calm, right?" Buffy gasped, staring up at the sky. The stars in the open sky were a sight that she very much appreciated right now.

Draco let out a breathless laugh. "But you're out now, and you don't even have to worry about replacing the empty coffin again."

He turned his head to look at her, and she did the same. If these were different circumstances, it would have been romantic. They were lying close to each on the ground under the stars. Except they were in a graveyard and he'd just rescued her from suffocating in her own coffin six feet under.

Buffy had the overwhelming urge to curl up and cry. It hurt to leave her mother yet again, but she knew that she was better for it. She'd had the chance to say goodbye with the knowledge that Joyce Summers was always watching over her and her family. Also different from the last time was knowing that when she came back, there was no grasping at roots through the dirt as she climbed her way up like a vampire.

"Thank you," she said softly, knowing he would know what she meant, because those words seemed so small in comparison to the gratitude she felt.

"I couldn't let you do it again," Draco answered, and Buffy smiled.

"But thank you anyway."

She started to sit up when Draco did and realized she was in her halter top shirt that she'd put on that morning. The halter top that was still untied in the back. Buffy quickly found the strings and tied the shirt together in the back, grateful she hadn't sat up all the way and flashed Draco. She'd never heard the end of it. i_Remember the time I rescued you from your coffin and you flashed me?/i_

Draco stood up and offered Buffy a hand. Once they were both on their feet and brushed the dirt and leaves off of their clothing, they made their way out of the cemetery. Buffy furrowed her brow and looked at Draco as they slowly walked down the street.

"Why aren't you doing your poof thingy?"

Draco's eyebrow slowly raised as he looked at her. "My poof thingy? What are you talking about?"

"You know," Buffy said, trying to not sound completely incompetent. "Wave your wand and i_poof!/i_ You're gone."

"Ah," Draco said with a small grin. "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather walk right now. I think I'll stay away from Apparating for a few days."

Buffy just shrugged. "You're the girl who complains that walking too much hurts your feet. Try chasing a vampire in four and a half inch heels. i_Then/i_ you can complain."

Draco just rolled his eyes.

The rest of the trip back to the Summers' house was spent in silence. When they neared the house, both slowed, feeling something was wrong. All the lights were on, and shadows were running back in forth of the windows.

They both made their way to the front of the house and just as they were coming up the front walk, the front door slammed open and Pansy rushed out, throwing her arms around Draco.

"When you disappeared I was so worried!"

Draco stood in shock, his arms at his side and looked over at Buffy. She only grinned back, amused. Sure, she had been the one who died all over again and got locked in her coffin but Draco got the hugs and concern.

"Pansy, what the bleeding hell are you talking about?" Draco asked sharply, pulling away from her. After attempting to unlock her arms around his waist, and failing, he gave up and put his arms around her with a roll of his eyes. He'd never understand women.

Harry appeared in the doorway, his silhouette framed by the light on the stairway. As Draco looked past him to the house inside, he had the strangest case of déjà vu, except the house he'd been in the past two months was different, and he almost missed it. When he looked at Buffy's face, she was clearly thinking of the same thing.

He finally unwound himself from Pansy's grasp and took a deep breath. "Give us a moment, okay? It's tough being back."

Pansy's eyebrow shot up and she crossed her arms, instantly defensive. "Oh really? You've both been passed out for twelve hours and then a few moments ago you completely disappear. I was i_terrified_./i What the hell happened?"

"Twelve hours? We were only gone for twelve hours?" Buffy asked slowly. "That doesn't make sense." She looked at Draco for an explanation, but he could only shrug. He didn't understand the way time worked, and he wasn't about to try.

"Why doesn't it make sense?" Harry chimed in, still standing on the threshold of the door.

Draco saw Buffy pause, and knew that even though she was putting on a brave front and this time hadn't been as hard as the last, it was still hard. "Because we were in heaven for two months, and it's going to be a bit hard for both of us, all right?"

He hadn't meant to snap at anyone, but it came out a bit too harsh. At Pansy's incredulous look he knew that coming back from heaven or no, she wouldn't hesitate to lay him on his arse for being a bastard. "Sorry," he grumbled, pushing past both her and Harry to throw himself onto the couch in the living room. It wasn't as comfortable as the one he'd taken to napping on in heaven.

Buffy stood on the porch a moment, almost unable to take the final step into the house that was so different than what she wanted it to be.

"What was it?" Pansy asked softly, and when Buffy looked at her, she didn't see anything mocking or spiteful in her eyes. She turned back to face the front.

"It was here," Buffy replied softly. "It was here, but it was like the last six years never happened. That's my heaven."

Harry and Pansy stood frozen, staring at her Buffy and she could feel the weight of their gaze on her shoulders. Suddenly claustrophobic, she rushed through the door and was halfway up the stairs, the rough banister biting in her skin. She turned to look at Draco, who was lying on the couch with an arm thrown over his eyes. "Can I go lie down upstairs?"

He moved his arm and looked at her with a piercing gaze. She knew they'd be closer after this encounter, because he now knew very intimate details about her life and her desires. But there was a fire in his eyes when he looked at her that wasn't there in heaven. Straightening her back and lifting her chin, she sent him a questioning glance.

"You're absolutely fine. It worked wonderfully. Get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Without another word, she finished climbing up the stairs and went straight into her bedroom. When the door shut, Draco sighed, closing his eyes, and tried to let the tension bleed from his body. He could finally relax.

"What the i_hell/i_ was that?" an icy voice questioned from above him. Draco groaned and grabbed a pillow to put over his face.

"Pansy, can I please just rest and put your bitching off until tomorrow? That would be wonderful."

She must have seen how tired he was or had one of the lucid moments when she actually clued in to other's feelings. He felt her sit down on the small space of couch he left and put an arm on his chest.

"Draco?"

"Not yet, Pans. Later, but not yet."

The hand was removed from his chest and Draco heard her heels click as she walked away. Draco let out a deep breath and tried to keep his hands from shaking. The pressure of the magic surrounding him was almost too much. He'd been without it for two months and now there was a weight that was crushing him. The Hellmouth magic swirled around him.

His breath quickened and he shot off the couch. The air was stifling. Brushing past a shocked Harry, Draco rushed around the stairs and through the dining room, barreling through the kitchen and slamming the door to the back porch open. The fresh air helped, but he didn't stop until he dropped to his knees outside on the grass. His hands clenched into fists as the blades of grass slivered through his fingers.

His lungs were taking in oxygen as if he'd been deprived of it, and the gasping breaths wouldn't stop. In his haze, he heard a dull thud behind him and then someone else collapsed at his side. The hand that lay on his shoulder was not Pansy's, but Buffy's.

"I forgot how much it hurt the first time. I was more disoriented, but it really did hurt."

She didn't say anything else and Draco got his breathing under control. He sat back on the ground fell to the cool earth, letting the chill seep through his back. "And I didn't think it would hurt. It took a while."

Buffy nodded. "It gets better." She grinned down at him sadly. "I'd know. Just breathe through it. Fresh air helps. Stay out here tonight."

He'd closed his eyes but opened them at Buffy's words. "Stay out here? What's to keep some evil vampire from snacking on my blood?" His grin was sharp. "I'm not exactly carrying around a dangerous powdered poison in my blood this time around that will make vampires turn to ash."

"I'll watch you," she said calmly. "You protected me in heaven, and I'll protect you here. Trust me; it'll help more than if you stayed inside."

Draco stared at her for a few moments, then nodded. Even out in the open, he felt claustrophobic. If something were to happen, she would take care of it. He didn't even bother turning his head away from her; he just closed his eyes.

His last memory before he drifted off to sleep was of a hand combing through his hair.

……………………

Willow was nervous, but she wasn't sure why. She was living proof that Draco knew what he was doing and that he was good at what he did, but this was her best friend. Buffy was special, and since he was trying to undo the mess she did, Willow felt more than a little responsible. If the damage she'd done to Buffy was irreversible…

She let the thought drift from her head. There was no good in worrying. It either worked or it didn't. She wasn't going to go back in time to change anything, because there was nothing she could change.

As Giles drove up to the house, Willow's nervousness came back full swing and she raced out of the car before Giles even put it in park, drawing a surprised yell from the man. She rushed up the steps and through the front door, where she stopped. Harry was coming down the stairs and he glanced at her in surprise.

"Willow, what are you—"

"Where is she?" she blurted out, half-afraid of the answer.

Harry kept looking at her curiously. "She's out back, but what are y—"

She didn't give him a chance to finish and ran to the backyard. Willow skidded on the wood planks of the deck when she took in the scene in the back yard.

Draco was lying back on the grass with his eyes closed and his arms pillowing his head. It appeared he was asleep. But what really caught her attention was Buffy, dressed in a white tank top and charcoal athletic pants going completely postal on a vampire.

In the daylight.

Her jaw dropped and she just stood there in shock.

"Are you all right?"

Willow spun around with her hands to her chest, trying to calm the beating down. She hadn't heard Harry come up behind her. "Geez! You nearly scared the poop out of me! No sneaking up on people!"

The corner of his mouth quirked up, but Harry continued to look Willow over. "Are you okay? You ran in and gave me a fright. It looked like you'd seen a ghost or something."

"I was worried about Buffy, but by the looks of things she's doing okay," Willow said with a gesture towards the still fighting Slayer. "And how is she fighting a vampire that's not going poof in the daylight?"

"Draco's conjured it for her to work with."

That made more sense. Draco wasn't asleep, he was merely tuning out everything else to keep up the conjuring. Willow started to breathe a little easier. "So everything went okay? Where's Pansy?"

"Right here," she said, coming up behind Harry, with Giles trailing behind her. "I was flooing Blaise but when you rushed in I cut it short. Everything all right?"

"Fine, I was just worried about Buffy." Willow turned back to watch her fighting friend. Her hits were harder than she'd seen in a while, and the blonde was incredibly focused. There was a determination behind every movement and the vampire didn't stand a chance, conjuring or not.

It was quickly dusted and a satisfied grin came over Buffy's face. She twirled the stake in her hand then blew the tip, as if it were a smoking gun and not a sliver of wood. When she turned to the deck, her grin widened.

"Willow! Giles! Have fun playing spirits in the desert? That's always been one of my yearly highlights."

Before she could say anything else, Willow rushed forward and hugged Buffy as hard as she could. "I'm so glad you're all right."

With an understanding smile, Buffy dropped the stake and pulled Willow in for an even tighter hug. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

"Oh vomit," Draco said, disgusted. "Are we done with the sickeningly sweet reunions? My teeth are rotting."

Willow pointed a finger at him. "Back off, buster. I need my Buffy snuggles." His eyebrow rose. "No, you can't join in."

"Then can we move this inside?"

Every moved inside to the living room and took a seat. Draco sighed and sat down on the couch, staring at the ceiling. "I am bored as hell and I demand to be entertained," he stated loudly. All conversation stopped. It took all his self-control to not smile when both Buffy and Pansy sent him the exact same 'are you serious?' look. "What?"

"Demanding gets you hexes, darling, and not the kind you like," Pansy stated.

Draco finally grinned. "Remember what happened last time I got bored?"

Giles sighed and took his glasses off and started to wipe them with the edge of his shirt. "You snuck into the Daily Prophet with Blaise and completely vandalized the offices of anyone who has printed anything false about you, which was the majority of the offices. I believe carving giant penises into the desks was a bit overboard."

"Don't forget about the glittered unicorns on all the walls and the massive bags of dragon dung," Harry said with a snicker. It was one of the few times Harry wished he would have agreed to go along with Draco and Blaise on one of their adventures.

The teasing mood was interrupted by Willow. "Well? What happened?" she demanded before pausing. "Was that too sudden? I was being too sudden, wasn't I? I shouldn't have asked you that. It's bringing back bad memories. I mean, once was enough but twice? You shouldn't have to go through that. And why am I still talking about it?"

She continued to ramble and Draco rolled his eyes. "Someone shut her up," he groaned tiredly.

Buffy obliged and put a hand over Willow's mouth. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"I'm fine, Willow. This was easy. Well, not entirely easy, but easier. Draco helped me through it, and I knew I was coming back and knew what I had to do."

"Do you remember?" Giles asked softly and Buffy took a deep breath. Draco sat up, prepared to stop the line of questioning if he saw it took too much out of Buffy, but she held on to her strength and sped forward.

"I do, in all it's Technicolor detail. I kind of got… lost in it, too, but Draco snapped me out of it. It was hard at first. I broke down a bit, but it was when the memories of what I was meant to do started fading that it got harder."

She knew the question they were all dying to ask. Since she remembered her heaven now, they wanted to know what she was ripped from.

"But I left things knowing I was doing the right thing. And when I'm done here, I can go back, and we can pick things up right where they left off."

"We?" Willow asked, almost not wanting to know the answer, and when Buffy put a hand on her knee, she could feel it shaking.

"Mom. I was with mom in heaven."

Both of Willow's free hands covered her mouth but not before a sob escaped her throat. Willow's pain and anguish nearly choked Draco and he had to take deep breaths. His fists were clenched in a couch pillow and he could feel Pansy's gaze sharpen as she looked at him from the seat next to him on the couch. She could probably feel what he did, but it was not as strong.

"Get her under control," Draco muttered before rising off the couch and stalking out the front door, slamming it behind him. His head felt like it was in a vice, and he couldn't release all the dark magic curling inside of him. Finally, he gripped one of the posts on the porch and let the magic funnel out of him. The hanging plants on the porch wilted.

Draco rolled his eyes and got his breathing under control. Giles was going to scrutinize him once he saw the dead plants, but Draco had been holding in that dark energy since he'd come back. The Dementor in him had been harder to control since he'd come back from heaven, and that was starting to worry him. His dark magic was going completely mad. Soon he would need to return to England and return to the coven to get some of his magic stabilized or he'd end up sucking out everyone's soul.

The door opened and when Buffy stepped out, Draco's eyebrow went up. He'd not expected her to come check on him. "Shouldn't you be inside?"

"Willow pretty much lost it, especially when I told her that mom said hi. Pansy and Giles are trying to get her to calm down. It was a bit stifling in there, to be honest." Buffy's eyes wandered, but noticed something different about the porch. "What the hell happened to my plants?"

Draco cringed and pulled his hand away from the post, revealing a blackened handprint in the wood. Something was seriously wrong.

"What the hell is going on?" Buffy asked lowly.

"Ever since we came back, my magic is getting darker. I've been able to balance it, but if I can't get it under control soon, I'll have to return to England and have the coven help. It's never come on this sudden before. It's an easy fix; I just have to watch it."

Draco pulled out his wand and cast a concealment over the handprint. He'd conjure new flowers the next morning when he wasn't so drained. "Let's go back inside. We don't want to cause suspicions."

As he turned to go inside, his eyes caught a shadow across the street. Draco quickly turned and narrowed his eyes in the direction and even felt around with his magic, but couldn't sense anything. A feeling of unease came over him and his skin tingled.

"What was that?" Buffy asked suddenly, looking around.

"You felt it too?" Draco questioned, mildly shocked that she would feel the magic, but being surrounded by the Hellmouth had affected her aura anyway. She would be able to sense the magic, and a change had just occurred that caught her notice. That meant it was big. "I don't know."

Draco looked at where he'd seen the shadow.

"But I don't like it."

…………………

The next chapter picks up the pace and then chapter eighteen is a doozy. Four more chapters until this sucker is done.


	17. Chapter 17

Author note: On time. Surprised? Thank echo, because an offhand comment in an IM reminded me I needed to post this.

This chapter has a surprise. *giggles* Big surprise. Some foreshadowing thrown in, and lots of humor. It has some sadness too. Nothing too exciting happens mostly because the drama, action, and general WTF-ness comes next chapter. Buckle up, kiddies.

Thanks to Jacy, and I hope you feel better, sweetie.

……………………….

Draco was dreaming. That was strange because he didn't usually dream; it was a side effect of the Dementor curse. It was like a natural dreamless sleep potion. He left dream walking to Pansy, her being the Seer of the relationship. Sometimes a few dreams slipped by though, and this must have been one of those times.

"It's not."

He spun around to face the voice, but his eyes widened when he saw the figure walking towards him. He'd only seen her in pictures. The one he'd looked at the most was on the bedside table of the master bedroom. Willow was smiling with her arms around Tara, whose eyes weren't at the camera, but gazing lovingly at her red-headed witch.

"What the i_hell/i_ is going on?" Draco asked slowly, walking towards Tara. "You're dead."

She just grinned at him. "And you're very observant. I had no idea such a genius would be helping my Willow."

That made Draco lose his wondering look and glare at Tara. "She neglected to mention you were a smartarse."

Tara's grin widened. "I wasn't when I was alive. I was more quiet than anything, but considering your cousin is the one I spend the most time with, I think it's a natural progression."

Cousin? Draco thought a few moments before he laughed a bit. "Cousin Sirius. You're hanging about with that old bastard? I feel sorry for you. But I can see where the smart mouth comes from. It's a Black family trait."

She smiled at him before walking closer. The closer she got, the warmer he became. Draco was used to being cold but this woman made him warmer than he had been in a long time. "Why are you here? I'd love to know how you got here but I'll settle for why."

"My Willow is special. I got permission to do a bit of visiting when I wanted. I've been used as a vessel before, so I'm accustomed to walking the spiritual plane."

Draco shivered. How did someone get accustomed to walking the spiritual plane? He still got sick if he even attempted it. "So you come to visit me? Why me when you could visit someone else?"

The smile that was on Tara's face turned sad, and Draco instantly knew why everyone was so attached to Tara in the past. There was something about her that made him want to see her happy again. She was one of those souls that were like gravity—something about her pulled people in.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Tara was suddenly right in front of him. "I'm with you because that feeling you have right now? It would be crippling to anyone else in this house. But with you, you don't know me. Your emotions don't cloud your judgment. You can listen to my message and know what to do with it. Your number one priority is Willow and Buffy." She put her hand on his face and he had to close his eyes at the warmth in her touch. "You're cold and that's what I need right now."

Draco's eyes opened and even as she said it, he could feel the warmth creeping away from him. "Cold? Emotionless, you mean."

"No, not emotionless. Ready to face what's coming and know what you have to do, regardless of what others think is right." Tara sighed and stepped back. "I didn't come here to offend you. I came to talk with you, thank you, warn you and eventually threaten you."

He laughed, some of the tension that had developed between the two dissolving. "Threaten? What the hell are you talking about? You're going to threaten me? With what?"

The easy smile was back on Tara's face. "I've been informed threats are better received at the end of a conversation. So talking and thanking first?"

"And the warning? When does that come?" Draco crossed his arms, knowing the easy pace he'd been working with since he'd arrived in Sunnydale was too good to be true. Something was bound to go wrong.

"Before the threats. Talking is always first," she replied promptly. Her face was an open book as she looked up hopefully at Draco. "How's Willow? I've been keeping watch, trying to figure out a way to stop her if I needed to. I wasn't quick enough last time, but now that you're here, I don't think I need to. You've been keeping her safe and grounded."

If someone looking out for Willow and who truly cared for her thought he was doing a good job, then that instantly made him more comfortable in what he was doing for Willow. Most of the people back in England criticized him for his methods, but if it worked, he wasn't about to change his ways.

"Thank you," Draco said with a small grin. "She is doing extremely well. We've had a few bumps, but I think she's progressing with leaps and bounds."

"After you removed that curse Rack put on her." Tara's face betrayed her guilty thoughts." If only I had know what he'd done I'd have—"

"Been of no help," Draco finished for her with a smirk. "Eventually word would have gotten to me, but then that could change how Willow reacted to your death. We can't focus on the past because we can't change it."

Tara nodded. "I know. But I've found out that when you're dead, all the what-if's in life seem much more important."

"I agree," Draco said with a laugh.

"And I'm glad that you're able to help Buffy as well," Tara said, and she looked down in sadness. "When we brought her back, I had no idea what pain her aura would be subject to. When she asked me to look at it afterward, I saw the damage. I knew it had to be corrected, but it kept getting put off because of Willow. It was incredible dangerous of me to do so, so I'm glad that someone is paying it the attention it deserves."

Draco nodded, both understanding where Tara was coming from but also a bit irritated about it. He was not here to help a Slayer with a broken aura, and the whole process just brought more complications, but it was his job. That and his mother would have kicked his arse if he ignored it.

"Now, are we done chit-chatting or do you have any more pressing questions?"

"We can move on, but I'll be thinking up questions to ask you next time," she replied with a sly grin on her face, glad that the semi-serious nature of her talk was done.

He knew that look anywhere. It was a Black look. Tonks got it all the time, and even his mother tended to have that particular expression when she was about to do something particularly devious. "Next time? There's going to be a next time?"

Tara nodded. "You amuse me, and you're part of my family now, just as I'm practically a part of yours. You can send messages and I don't have to worry about how my existence will affect anyone. I don't want to hurt anyone else."

"And you don't think that the ones you love receiving messages from an outsider and not you won't be hurtful?" Draco asked, peering at her curiously. He knew that if their positions were switched, he'd pitch a fit if someone used another puppet for a messenger.

She just shrugged. "I guess I'm being selfish. It would hurt me just as much as it would hurt them. I also think they know it's best this way. The hurt is still too fresh. Maybe someday, but that day isn't today."

Part of him wanted to argue, mostly so he wouldn't have to endure the looks of betrayal, but Draco just nodded in agreement. "I think after what you've been through, you're entitled to a bit of selfishness."

He was surprised when Tara snorted. "My pain was just a glimpse compared to what they felt. But you're helping to heal them. You're like a magical band-aid."

"Don't those hurt when they're taken off?" Draco asked, looking at Tara suspiciously. She just smiled at him. "Right. Magical band-aid. That's me."

Tara became very serious, and that sobered up Draco immediately. "Now comes the warning. I can't say much, especially since talking and threatening was all I was given permission to do, but I just had to do this." She took a deep breath to steady herself. "First, you can't let your magic go unchecked. I'm not up to par with where I was on the physical plane, but I can see something's wrong. But, I don't think it was heaven. I think something or someone is affecting you this way, trying to get off balanced. And that brings me to my second warning. You need to be careful in the future. Nymphadora and Andromeda aren't the only Blacks who are going to visit you."

Draco was about to bang his head against a wall, if he could find one, when the lighted area they were standing in darkened. Both Draco and Tara looked up. "Because that wasn't ominous at all."

That made Tara giggle. "The powers don't like it when people get an unfair advantage."

"Unfair advantage, my arse!" Draco snapped at Tara before turning his head towards the ceiling again. "It's about time you bastards gave me a clue before something goes to hell!"

Thunder echoed loudly through the dream space. Tara didn't seem worried, just amused. "I don't think swearing at the Powers is a way to get them to your side."

Draco rolled his eyes at her. "Who says I want them on my side? I'd just like a little heads up when the shit's about to hit the fan." He glared up at the ceiling one last time before turning to Tara with a pleasant look on his face. "So thank you for the warning. What was the last thing on your list?"

"Threatening." This time it was Draco who was amused before the area darkened again and a wind whipped up Tara's sandy blonde hair. "Hurt my family and I'll make your last death look like a walk in the park. Including Buffy. She's special to you, and if you break her heart hell will be a vacation. Got me?"

His eyebrows shot up. "You're actually quite good at that. Sirius been giving you lessons?"

Tara's dark look immediately brightened and she smiled at Draco as if she hadn't just attempted to terrorize him. "Yes. I also got a good first-hand look from Buffy and Spike. Don't tell her, but Willow's threats were more cute than anything."

Draco snorted. "That's a secret I'll be willing to keep." They were quiet for a while; the silence wasn't tense at all. "What am I supposed to tell them? I don't even know how to start."

"I'm sorry. I know it's a burden for you."

"It's not just a burden!" he snapped. The more he thought about the different ways he could talk to Willow and Buffy, none of the ways ended up with him keep all his limbs. "Do you realize that this could put back my relationship with Willow? How is she going to trust me now? Do you think they're going to be very happy with me after this?"

She let out a small sigh. "It's going to be okay. I've known them longer than you have, and they'll understand. I just have a few things you can tell them to make it okay. Will that help?"

"Bloody hell, yes. I like all my parts attached to my body, thanks." The lights dimmed in the space again, and Draco glared at the ceiling. "Will you stop that? You're not scary—you're bloody annoying. If you were here, I'd hex you because the dimming lights are more of a headache than a threatening gesture."

Tara laughed. "Sirius said the same thing when the Powers were first irritated with him."

"We're Blacks. Sadly, our views can be very similar." Draco turned the conversation serious again. "You never answered my question."

"You're a Black," she said cheekily. "You'll figure something out."

………………………

Draco awoke with a start, Pansy rustling in her sleep next to him. He didn't think she'd wake up because she had a tendency to sleep like the dead and hardly ever awoke until she wanted to. The other occupant of the room was sitting up on his make-shift bed against the wall, clearly alert.

"You've been up for a while. Couldn't sleep?" Draco asked, ignoring the fact that his heart was racing and he was starting to sweat and shake. One of the not so fun side effects of the Dementor curse was an aversion to dream spaces or the spiritual planes. It almost made him sick. After taking a deep breath, he got out of bed and went into the bathroom.

Harry followed Draco and watched as he washed off his face and tried to control the shaking. "I'm up because voices kept me up. You weren't the only one with the visitor. It was hard to shut them out."

Draco turned towards Harry, a concerned look on his face. Had Tara decided to visit Willow after all? "What do you mean someone else had a visitor?"

Just then, Buffy stumbled into the bathroom, gripping her head. "Oh, my head is i_killing/i_ me."

Both Harry and Draco's jaw dropped. "You're kidding me. Who was it?" Draco asked, almost dreading the answer.

Buffy just then noticed the other two people in the room. "What?" she asked as she blinked against the light. "What are you doing up? It's almost four in the morning."

"You had someone visit you in your dreams, who was it?" Harry asked gently, making Draco roll his eyes. "I know the signs. Pansy has quite a few people come talk to her, and Draco had someone come to him tonight. It's okay to tell us."

"I would. Trust me, I would," Buffy said as she gingerly leaned against the counter and started rummaging through a drawer. She pulled out a small aspirin bottle and grinned. "Gotcha."

Draco rolled his eyes and let out a huff of impatience. He grabbed his wand and sent a small charm to heal headaches in Buffy's direction. She blinked before grinning. "Instant relief. They should market that."

"Who the hell was it, Summers?"

The slayer glared at Draco and crossed her arms. "I told you I would if I knew who it was. First, it was a big, black dog who turned into a man before declaring himself 'seriously black'. I have no idea who that was."

Draco had to reach up and steady Harry before he fell over in shock. "Sirius? Sirius Black came to you? Why? What did he say?"

Buffy's eyes widened as she watch Harry start to shake. Draco pulled him back and forced him to lean against the wall. "Budge up, Potter. You know why he can't see you. He'd get lost in your head and never get out. You can't establish connections anymore."

Harry just stared at the floor and took a few deep breaths before shrugging off Draco's hand. "I'm going back to sleep." He left the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Buffy looked back at Draco with wide eyes. "What was that all about?"

"Sirius Black was Potter's godfather. He died when we were 15. I think Potter's just tired of listening to other people say they've talked to him. Tonks did once, and Sirius' friend Remus gets visits sometimes. Hell, he's even talked to me a bit."

"Why you?" Buffy asked.

"Because I'm related to the old bastard—we're cousins. Well, technically he's my mother's cousin, but you get the idea." Draco grinned at her. "It's probably good I never knew him while he was alive. We're both a bit reckless."

Buffy compressed her grin. "So Harry can't talk to the dead people?" She made a face. "That sounded less Haley Joel Osment in my head."

Draco just blinked at her. It must have been an American muggle pop culture reference. "No, he can't. After his whole episode with Voldemort and the mental connection that he completely ripped apart because of that, it's impossible for any spectral to communicate with him. It's a blessing because he'd either be wide open or completely closed off. I'd rather have him angry than insane."

She instantly felt bad for Harry. If she knew that she had the ability to speak with her own mom without dying but it was cut off from her, she would have been angry too. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," he replied, looking at her strangely. "It was going to happen to him regardless. You can't help you comes to see you, just like I can't help who comes to see me."

"Who i_did/i_ come to see you?" Buffy asked, and Draco froze.

"Well, it was actually a bit of a surprise. I'd never met her before, which is strange. I've only been visited two other times but I knew both of them. Pansy's the one who has the revolving door on her mind." Draco took a deep breath. "It was Tara."

All Buffy could do was blink. "Tara. Willow's Tara?" she asked in shock. "Why—"

"Did she come to me? I really don't know. I asked her, and she said that if she had appeared to you or Willow, it would have hurt too much."

"It would have," Buffy replied absentmindedly. She just stared at the floor in thought. Willow was going to be devastated. She wasn't sure how she'd help her friend through this. Everyone knew that Willow wasn't completely over Tara's death, but she was doing much better. Sometimes Buffy wondered if she'd really had closure and could properly grieve. "How are you going to tell her?"

Draco had been thinking of different way since he first woke up. There was one simple, solution. "I'm not. At least not right away. Let me figure some things out. I need to make sure she's going to be partly okay with knowing Tara can communicate. If she is, then I'll feel out how she feels about not being able to communicate with Tara. I think Willow's mind is too unstable now. In the future we can work on it, but not right now."

Buffy nodded and shivered, running her hands up and down her arms. It was cold in the bathroom, and her short, but intense dream vision with Sirius Black had knocked the breath out of her when she had woken.

Draco sighed and motioned to the hallway. "Are you going to go back to bed? I don't think I'll be able to go back to sleep, so I'll just go downstairs and read a bit."

She made a face. "Are you crazy? I can get a good four hours of snoozing in. I'm going back to bed. You can read all the boring books you want to."

He chuckled as they left the bathroom and went their separate ways.

"What did Tara say to you?" Buffy whispered as she turned around to peer at Draco in the dark hallway. Draco smirked when he turned, and she knew that his answer was not going to be one she liked.

"I'll tell you, when you tell me what Sirius told you."

"Not going to happen."

She was right; she wasn't going to like his answer. She would take what Sirius Black told her to the grave. Although, there was something she was curious about.

"Although, why was I supposed to ask you how your ferret was?"

Draco's face turned sour and he spun on his heel and went downstairs. "Go to sleep, Summers, and shut up about that or I'll see that you'll never get a good night's sleep again."

Buffy glared as he disappeared from her sight. "I don't get a good night's sleep anyway, asshole, not that you'd care."

She turned back to go to her room, when she heard his voice come from the first floor.

"I heard that!"

Buffy rolled her eyes and went back into the room, intent on getting some more sleep.


	18. Chapter 18

Author's Note: This was probably one of the hardest chapters for me to write, not because I had no idea what I wanted to happen, but because I just could not write it. I had no ambition to write it. I sent it to Jacy with detailed paragraphs of what I wanted, yet I couldn't write it out. When I had just posted chapter four of this, I suddenly got the drive to finish it.

This is probably the most action packed chapter I've ever written. Ever. It's also the most shocking in the fic. A few warnings:

Graphic descriptions and um… character death? Sorta? *winces*

Two more chapters after this one and we're done! I hope you like it. Surprise?

Also, I'm hosting a fic challenge on my personal livejournal, but since it's friends' locked, I put it at my fic journal. The link is a href=.com/renewing_here/a. There are two challenges with multiple fandoms you can throw at me. Go and have fun!

…………………………

Buffy made a face when she heard the knock at the door. Everyone was here except Draco and Willow, who had taken a walk. Draco said he had something he needed to tell her, and Buffy had a sinking suspicion it involved his talk with Tara that had happened a week ago.

Another thing that had Buffy worried was the fact that Draco's magic was still bothering him. She'd seen him release his magic twice now. The dead patch of grass in the back yard had been hidden by a spell, but seeing Draco drop to his knees in pain and releasing his magic had been terrifying. She saw it in his eyes; he was losing control and still had no idea why.

The doorbell rang and she sighed, shaking the dark memories out of her head. "I'll get it!" she yelled since she was the closest, coming down the stairs on her way to the kitchen. Harry and Pansy were outside, with Pansy working on Harry's magical control.

When she opened the door, her eyebrows went up. They were unfamiliar faces. One female and two males dressed rather strangely in loose coats and clothes that looked outdated. "Can I help you? You're not selling anything, are you?"

The female just smiled. "We're friends from Britain. I'm here to see Draco."

Buffy noticed the British accent but something was off about these people. "Um, he's not here right now, but Pansy and Harry are out back. Giles is here too, if you know him but he's down in the basement."

"Harry and Pansy first, then we can start in with the pleasantries," the female said firmly.

As Buffy turned to let them in, Dawn came down the stairs. "Who are they?"

"Friends from England. Will you go tell Giles and Xander they're here? They're down in the basement." Her sister nodded suspiciously but did as she told, going in front of the group and down the stairs.

Behind Buffy's back, the female nodded to the door Dawn had just gone through, and one of her companions silently followed down the steps. Buffy opened the back door and peeked out, so not to startle Harry out of something important. Both he and Pansy were aware and talking, so she continued out the door.

"Hey guys? Some friends from England are here to see you."

Both Harry and Pansy turned confused gazes on Buffy and then their eyes shifted to behind her. Buffy watched as their faces paled and their eyes widened. Both immediately pulled their wands and it was then she knew she was right to have doubted the intruder's integrity. On instinct, she dove out of the way as Harry and Pansy fired off spells at the people behind her, who said spells right back.

Her eyes widened when the spells the impostors cast towards Harry and Pansy made them disappear. "What the hell?" She immediately turned and was about to start kicking some English ass, but ropes bound her tightly and another spell made her lose her voice.

Panic started setting in. With Harry and Pansy gone, Giles was her only hope, but when he, Xander, and Dawn were all dragged outside in the same shape she was, Buffy started thinking this was end of the world bad.

"Who the bloody hell are you?"

Hey! Why did Giles get a voice and she didn't?

The female just smirked. "You'll have to wait a few minutes, Watcher, until the polyjuice wears off."

"Well I knew it was that. You're walking around wearing a dead person's skin. I just want to know who I'm up against." Buffy could see Giles testing the ropes, but she'd already tried with her full strength. They were magical ropes and she was helpless against them.

Xander and Dawn looked unharmed, so that made her breathe a little easier. They clearly weren't here for Dawn, so that meant they were here for the two people that were absent.

Draco and Willow.

……………………………

They both agreed to go to a nearby park. Draco was going to attempt to tell Willow about Tara, but he also needed to release some magic and a place away from the house would be best. He was tired of casting concealing charms on charred trees and grass. Draco didn't think Giles had noticed yet, but Willow felt the difference, as did Harry and Pansy. It was becoming slightly bothersome.

"So, what did you want to talk about? Is there something wrong with me again?"

Draco laughed. "Willow, you're absolutely normal. Your magic levels are incredibly high, your control is astounding, and I daresay you could do anything you could before with less burnout. Now that you've harnessed your powers, the sky is the limit."

He suddenly stopped talking. They hadn't reached the park yet but had it in their sights when a ripple of magic rushed past them. Both paused in the aftershocks.

"Tell me you felt that," Willow whispered.

"Something's wrong," he confirmed. Magic was trying to tell them something, but it was jumbled. Draco's own magic was too loose to make sense of it. "We need to go back. This discussion will have to wait."

Both Draco and Willow spun on their heels and walked back quicker than they'd walked away. Draco couldn't apparate with his magic so out of tune but he was almost willing to take the risk. Once on Revello Drive, they slowed, knowing whatever had happened occurred at the Summers' residence.

Someone came out the front door and Draco's instincts were telling him to hang back. He grabbed Willow by the arm and stopped her, trying to get a good look at the person on the porch. It was a male and the face was familiar to him. When the man stopped at the wooden post Draco had released his magic into the first night he was back, Draco's heart started to beat out of his chest.

A second man joined the first and they both examined the post carefully. Whoever these people were knew Draco was having problems with his magic and knew exactly where he'd released it. Suddenly, one of the men looked up and saw Willow and him hiding near the bushes.

Then he realized where he'd seen the face before—the Daily Prophet. The man had been murdered by rogue Death Eaters.

"Shit," Draco breathed before pulling Willow away. He had enough sense to know he could not fight the Death Eaters with his magic not obeying him like he wanted, and Death Eaters never traveled in pairs. They always had at least three of them working in tandem. "Run," he ordered a shocked Willow. "i_Run/i!_"

They both took off and Draco heard loud cursing behind them. The Death Eaters were following. They could only run so far, and any magic Draco or Willow used would be easily traceable to them. As he pushed his legs to go faster, thoughts began floating through his mind, trying to think of a way out of the situation. Suddenly, an idea hit him and he turned to Willow.

"Find a dead pocket."

She looked at him in shock and he could see she was running out of breath. "What?"

"Find a magical dead pocket. I can get us out of here without them tracing us if you can find one. You're better at looking than I am."

"But I can't run and concentrate."

Draco growled and grabbed her arm, pulling them closer which slowed them down a bit but he kept up a brisk pace. "I'll make sure you don't run into anything, just do it!"

Willow cautiously closed her eyes and slowed more, but Draco kept pushing them forward. Her eyes snapped open and she gasped. "There's one close. Two blocks up and one block east."

With renewed vigor, he ran harder, despite the cramps in his legs. As he and Willow ducked into the alley she motioned to, Draco could feel it. It was low to the ground, but it would easily fit them inside. Once they passed through the deadened space, Draco cast a disillusionment charm and prayed his magic did what he wanted.

When the Death Eaters appeared around the corner, he put his hand over Willow's mouth to muffle her panting and tried to control his own breathing. His sides were killing him, and if he never ran again, it would be too soon.

"Where did they go?" a Death Eater asked before doubling over in a grimace, as did the other one. When Draco got to see their true faces, he started shaking. Willow felt it and looked at him nervously. He just shook his head and gripped his wand tighter. They needed to get back to the house as quickly and safely as possible. This was very bad.

Because Antonin Dolohov and Rabastan Lestrange were two of the evilest Death Eaters Voldemort had, and where Rabastan was, Bellatrix wasn't too far behind.

Hoping with all his might that he didn't make a sound coming or going, Draco closed his eyes and focused on the back yard of the Summers' house, apparating Willow and himself. When he opened his eyes, Draco realized his deadly mistake. They were in the middle of the backyard with no close cover, and his aunt had been waiting. She stared down at them with her wand draw and pointed directly at him.

"Hello, Draco," she said with a sickly sweet smile.

"Hello, Aunt Bella. Come to finish the job?"

Bellatrix cocked her head and looked between Draco and Willow, who were both deathly still. "You have no idea."

He felt the curse hit him in the shoulder and he rolled with it, fighting against the invisible force squeezing the breath from his lungs. Distantly he heard Willow scream and two other pops in the yard.

"Detain her," Bellatrix ordered coldly. "But don't hurt her. We need her intact. We'll play later."

When the curse was lifted, he gulped in deep breaths of air and laughed dryly. "It's always so nice to see you, Aunt Bella." Draco turned his head to take in the situation. Xander, Dawn, Giles and Buffy were on the grass bound and silenced, by the way they were all shouting but no sounds were coming out of their mouths. Both Lestrange and Dolohov had a grip on Willow, and she was looking at him helplessly.

Draco panicked when he saw Dawn slip out of some of the ropes. He had no idea how she'd gotten out but if one of the Death Eaters were to turn around, they'd probably kill her without glancing. He didn't know if that would affect her, being the essence of the key, but Draco really didn't want to find out.

As Dawn slipped out, he saw a glinting steak knife in her hands, probably left out from when Harry had grilled dinner earlier for them. Never before was he so grateful for Harry's forgetfulness. Speaking of Harry…

"Where's Potter and Pansy?"

Bellatrix grinned down at him, revealing rotted teeth. Her eyes glinted with madness and the wind blew her already mussed hair. Her clothing was the same torn black Death Eater robes that brushed his skin when she leaned down towards him. "Banished a couple of portkeys at them both. They'll be spinning around for a while and when they get back, we'll be long gone."

Draco clenched his teeth and resisted the temptation to do something petty in his weakened state, like pull on her robes to make her trip. But he needed to keep all the attention on him. Dawn, being the smart girl she was, went for Buffy first and nearly had her untied.

"Scared of Potter, are you?" Another hex hit him in the arm, and Draco nearly bit through his lip from the pain. All the nerve endings in his hand were on fire and it hurt to even think about moving them. "Thought so," he choked out.

"I'm not scared of anything!" she screeched, gripping her wand tightly. Draco could see her mind wandering, thinking of another appropriate curse to deliver.

"Are you scared of a pissed-off vampire Slayer?" he asked with a chuckle, now that the curse had been removed and he would breathe better.

His aunt sneered down at him. "Of course not. Besides, I've detained your pathetic Muggle friend. She's—"

"Right behind you, bitch."

Before Bellatrix could even turn around Buffy kicked her so hard she flew off her feet and rolled on the ground. Not wasting any time, the slayer went after the two men holding Willow. She took care of one with a well-delivered jab to the face then solar plexus. Rabastan immediately let go of Willow and fired off his own curse since Dolohov was down.

Draco knew those screams. He'd heard them often enough when he put Muggles and blood traitors under the Cruciatus during his spy days. When he looked up and saw Buffy's back arched off the ground and Rabastan standing over with a maniacal grin on his face, Draco didn't even think. He grabbed his wand from when it had fallen after he'd first been cursed and pointed it at Rabastan.

"i_Sectusempra/i!_"

Buffy gasped as the curse was lifted and scrambled away as Rabastan fell to the ground close to her, gasping for breath as his middle was split open and blood gushed from the open cuts. She turned shocked eyes to Draco but he didn't waste another moment, firing off a curse that would break Dolohov's knees and bend them backwards.

When he heard the two distinctive snaps of bone, Draco had to drop his wand. His magic was severely overused, just by using those two spells and the darkness in him was raging.

"Enough!" Bellatrix shouted, now standing on her feet, enraged as she looked at her fallen Death Eaters. "I thought I had taken care of you."

Draco looked at her, gasping for breath. "What did you do to me?"

"I made you this way," she hissed. "I can make it better or worse. At first it didn't work because of the Hellmouth, but being related by blood made it easier."

He had no idea what she was talking about, and Draco was about to tune out her insane ramblings, but she raised her wand and he tensed. With difficulty, Draco stood and helped Buffy up. Willow was off to the side, and Dawn had been dutifully untying Xander, who had been closest to Buffy.

"I will deal with you later!"

Magic tingled along his arms. He saw Harry and Pansy apparate into the backyard and take in the sights before them, but he paid them no attention. His focus was on his aunt. Draco followed Bellatrix's line of sight and the line of her wand and saw she was aiming directly for Dawn.

"i_Avada Kedavra/i_!"

Time slowed for him. Dawn was rushing in between Xander and Giles and was wide open. His magical strength was too depleted for him to conjure something to take the hit of the curse. If Dawn was killed, there was a good chance Bellatrix would be able to take the Key's power, and Bellatrix with that mount of magical energy was horrifying. So Draco did the stupidest thing he'd ever do in his life. He ran, skidded in the grass, and let the green light envelope him instead.

Buffy didn't know what that particular spell did, but when she saw Draco fall and not get up, she was worried. Then she heard Pansy scream in terror and run at Draco, crying. When she got close to him, her hands hovered over his body. Buffy then noticed his eyes. They were wide… and lifeless.

She was in shock. Buffy had noticed where that strange green light was going, and it was aimed at her sister. Draco had sacrificed himself to save Dawn.

Buffy turned to the cackling woman, standing in a circle of burned grass. Her vision tunneled and all she knew was that her threat of ripping our rib cages was going to finally come true. Before Buffy could get there, Harry appeared in front of her and tried to pull her back.

"You have to stop! It'll kill you!"

"What are you talking about?" she struggled against his grip and thought about just throwing him off of her.

"Do you see that circle around her?" She did, but the circle of dead and charred grass meant nothing to her. "It's called a death circle. It's the darkest magic. Anything that crosses it died. That circle of magic will kill you if you cross it. It'll protect us against her but it'll also protect her against us."

Bellatrix was still laughing madly and once Harry made sure Buffy knew not to cross the death circle, he turned to her angrily. She'd killed his godfather, was instrumental in getting Ginny killed, and his only regret about time when he went crazy after Ginny's death was not killing Bellatrix.

"Why? Why did you do it? And why are you still here? You got what you came for, didn't you?" he screamed at her, tears in his eyes. He could still hear Pansy yelling at Draco to wake up, despite knowing he never would.

"Who said I got what I came for. Draco got his, but I haven't gotten mine." She laughed as if she was joking with a friend before her eyes fell to her dead nephew. "Poor bitty baby. Cissy will be so angry at me. If only there was a way to bring someone back from a magical death," Bellatrix mocked before looking at Willow, who had fallen to the ground and was staring at Draco in shock.

"No," Harry whispered in horror. He understood now.

Buffy looked in between him and Bellatrix. "What's going on?"

"She killed him, but it didn't have to be him. She killed him to force Willow into bringing him back." Harry slowly blinked at Bellatrix in alarm. If she wanted to see if a witch could raise the dead, then he knew exactly who she planned on raising. "She's going to see if Willow can do it, so she can bring back Voldemort."

"Do it!"

Harry whirled around and couldn't believe his ears. Pansy was kneeling over Draco's body and staring at Willow coldly. "It would send her over the edge!"

"I don't care! Just i_do it/i!_"

Willow was shaking her head, still staring at Draco. "I, I can't. I don't have the power anymore. I don't have the connection to him. It wouldn't work." Tears fell down her cheeks. "I can't," she whispered.

"Yes you can!" Pansy finally moved from her position over Draco to rush in front of Willow, shaking her shoulders hard, much to Bellatrix's delight. "You have some of his magic, remember? Part of him lives on in you. Use that connection and bring him back. You've done it before, and you almost did it with Tara. You can bring him back! It was a magical death!"

"I don't have the ritual, or any of the things I need," Willow pleaded.

"It doesn't matter! You have the power! You can will him back!"

Harry saw that Pansy was getting desperate, and that meant she was getting dangerous. He was about to go to her but Buffy stopped him, glaring at Bellatrix. "You said she can't get out?"

"No. She can't even apparate out. She'll have to portkey, and no portkey would deliver her this close. It's a requirement of them; the distance must be longer than fifty meters. Any spell she tries to send will die as well."

Nodding, Buffy went over to Willow and gently pushed Pansy back. The woman collapsed and Giles was at her side in an instant, holding her close as she sobbed into his shoulder. Buffy paid her no attention and put her hand on Willow's shoulder.

"Is it possible? If it isn't, and if you think you can't do this, then don't. I don't want to lose you too. But if it's a possibility, then maybe you could try?"

Willow looked at Draco's body, still crying silently. What was it Draco told her before they'd gotten into this mess? She could do anything? It was true, she felt limitless, but she didn't want to fall into the dark again.

Draco gave her hope. He'd done so much for her and for Buffy, enduring heaven and hell for them, and giving up his life to protect Dawn. He never lied to her, always pushed her, and she never felt worthless around her. His focus was on her, and he helped her achieve the same thing he'd done for himself—balance.

Magic curled around her, and it warmed her from her core. It sensed her insecurities and was soothing her. If she didn't try, she'd hate herself forever. Draco deserved her effort at least.

Without saying a word, she called on her magic and instantly it flared up around her. Buffy was pushed slightly back as a fierce wind spun around her. But unlike Tara, she knew she had to do this right. It was one of the things that Draco told her had affected her so badly—she demanded of her magic when she could have asked. She was going to do it right this time.

Willow closed her eyes tightly, and asked for a meeting with Osiris. If anyone could bring him back , it was Osiris. And unlike with Buffy, Willow wouldn't bring him back by force. She'd just be the conduit.

_iIs that really what you want? To be a conduit for my power? My, how you have changed, young witch./i_

She gasped at the voice in her mind and the power thrummed in her. i_You have the power to raise him. You can control this situation. If I tried, I would make it worse./i _Willow paused, but sensed nothing from Osiris, so she continued on, pleading with him the only way she could. i_Please. Draco brought me back. He showed me the balance, and he healed the Slayer. Why does he not deserve a second chance?/i_

_iBecause he is already living out his second chance. I spared him once when the unnatural essence of the Dementor was forced upon him. What has he done to be spared again?/i_

Willow didn't know how to answer that. Despair started to creep in, knowing that this was her only possibility of bringing him back. Draco had given her a second chance, had shown her how to get in touch with her magic. Without him, she would've never had the capability of doing that again. Then an idea came to her. A very bad idea, but it was an idea all the same.

_iIf you don't want to use your own magic, then take mine./i_

If a disembodied spirit could show surprise, then she was feeling it. i_Your own magic? Your magic for the life of this man? Has he shown you such great compassion and sincerity since you've known him to deserve this?/i_

_iYes/i_, Willow thought firmly.

It was silent and Willow thought that she had failed, but Osiris spoke to her once more.

_iIt is done_./i

Then Willow was enveloped in a bright white light. It dimmed her senses but her magic made up for all the loss. Suddenly, she was connected to _everything_ and she knew that Osiris was using her as a conduit, like she had first asked.

_iBut—but why not take my magic?/i_ she asked in shock.

_iBecause for you to offer up your essence in payment for a life is a sacrifice I will honor and not ignore. /i_

Osiris' power flowed in and out of her quickly, but it steadied her. She was urged to stand and did so, following what his magic told her to do. Once she was over Draco's body, she knelt next to him, ignoring the shocked looks from Dawn and Xander. Willow laid a hand on Draco's forehead and felt Osiris push all of his magic through her into him.

"i_Awaken/i_," she said, and felt the power in her voice resonate through the air.

Just as abruptly as she felt it, the power suddenly left her and she fell back to the ground, gasping for breath. Her whole body was clenched in a pain she'd never felt and tears leaked from eyes freely.

A loud gasp came from her right and she made herself look over. Draco was awake, blinking, breathing, and i_alive/i_. He turned slowly to look at her, and his gaze was full of wonder. Then his eyes narrowed and he sat up, apparently having a lot more energy that she did.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?!"

"Huh?" she asked, but neither had a chance to speak because Bellatrix's screaming laughter made chills go through everyone present.

Buffy was the first one to speak. "Is everyone else seeing the victory dance that I'm seeing?" But Bellatrix paid her no mind as she turned to Willow.

"You will raise him. You will bring him back and the world will bleed!"

Willow was too weak to even shake her head no, but Draco was awake and energized. And it appeared that he was also very pissed off.

"You killed me! Just to see if she'd have the power to raise a dead body. i_You killed me/i_!"

"I was going to kill her," Bellatrix said with a smirk, pointing at Dawn. "You just happened to get in the way. I had other plans for you."

Draco stalked forward, his upper lip curled in a vicious sneer. "I don't think I'll give you the chance to carry them out."

Before he pick up his wand and cast a spell, not that it would have done any good against the circle, Bellatrix was whisked away with the portkey. Draco stopped short when he saw what was behind her. It seemed like his Aunt Bella i_would/i_ have a chance to carry her plans out.

Because a Dementor was coming out of the brush behind the Summers' house, and Draco knew what Bellatrix had done. She'd brought a Dementor to the Hellmouth. Even though the Hellmouth would make the Dementor's effect dulled, if Bellatrix fed it some of her blood, the Dementor could focus directly on the Black blood in his own.

Draco fell to his knees, his dark power spinning wildly out of control. The Dementor in him was reacting wildly to the one in front of him, and was clawing at the surface trying to escape.

Pansy rushed to him and put her hand on his skin, only to pull back, an icy burn on her hand. "Pull it in, Draco."

"I can't," he gritted through his teeth. "It's focused on me, I can't get it out of my head."

"Cast the Patronus!" Giles shouted, causing a panic to swell in Draco.

"The Dementor is focused on him. If I cast a Patronus, I'll kill him!" Pansy turned scared eyes to the Dementor creeping closer. Her breath became visible and she started to cry. "I just got you back. I can't lose you again."

Buffy was staring at the black monster and was about to stab a stake, a knife, or something, and kill it when Giles stopped her. "It's a magical creature that cannot be killed, only driven away."

"Then drive it away!" A shiver wracked her body and despite it being summer, a chill descended, creating a frost on the grass.

"It will kill Draco," Harry whispered next to her, and Buffy saw how pale he was. "I can already hear the screams," he said faintly, spurring Giles into action. He grabbed Harry and dragged him back towards the house, getting Dawn and Xander to help.

Buffy felt extremely powerless watching the monster descend on Draco and Pansy when a voice rang out loud and clear in the yard.

"i_I did not save a life, risking another, just to have them both destroyed by a creature of my own making/i._"

Buffy looked up and was frozen to the spot. Willow was standing, facing the Dementor. Her hair was black, but her eyes were white, and the voice coming out of her mouth was hers and another—a deep male voice that echoed with power.

"i_Leave/i_," she said, making a shooing motion with her hand. Buffy was surprised when the creature did as it was told, taking the chill with him. Willow collapsed on the ground and her natural coloring came back, but she was gasping for breath.

Everyone was quiet in the backyard, except for Willow's gasping breath.

"Tell me I did not hear what I just think I heard," Draco said, looking over at Willow in astonishment. "Did you just become a conduit for Osiris twice? Not once, which is more than enough to kill a person, but i_twice/i_?"

Willow was just as astounded as he was. "I could handle it, and so I'm an open medium now." Her muscles were like jelly and her energy was completely drained. "Someone want to help me up? I don't think I have as much kinetic energy as jell-o right now."

With that, she let the darkness take her and passed out.


	19. Chapter 19

Author's Note: Chapter Nineteen. One chapter away from the end. This chapter is mostly filler to get to the end and wraps up the loose ends of chapter eighteen. It's hard to believe this is almost over.

If you liked my fic, be looking for small 1,000 word one shots to start going up. I'm still hosting the challenge at my fic journal, so check it out if you'd like to submit one. I have four Big Bang fics coming up, including a Draco/Buffy fic for the Draco Big Bang, but that will not be posted until June per the challenge rules. I have other fics that I'll be posting though, featuring Draco.

Something I'm really excited about is Scriptificus—a collaborative Buffy/Harry Potter collective writing effort between myself and five other authors: Jo Anne Storm, BrendanM, camperx, myself, and echo. We will be posting scenes to a livejournal account found a href=.comhere/a, but archives will be posted at the Twisting the Hellmouth site. The link is a href=.here/a. We start posting scenes February 1st. Echo and I have done many scenes already. My two main characters are Blaise and Buffy, while she has the well-known Willow, Draco, and Oz. We both have other characters, and the other three writers are fantastic, so check us out and leave us feedback!

Enough shameless plugging. On with the fic!

………………..

He was in the same dream area as the last time Tara had come to him, except this time he was in a lot of pain. Draco groaned and rolled over onto his side, gripping his head. He knew that he was still healing from the ordeal with his Aunt Bellatrix and the Dementor, but this shouldn't have happened.

"Bloody buggering hell, this hurts."

Draco felt a warm hand on his head and it brought a bit of relief, but it still felt like someone had used his head to bash open a steel door.

"I'm so sorry, Draco. I wasn't sure if it was going to work, but I just had to try. I had to make sure she was okay."

He blearily opened his eyes, trying to protect them again the harsh lights around them. "What the hell are you talking about? We've done this before and it didn't feel like this."

"Tara?!"

Draco's eyes widened at the sound of the shocked voice, despite the light acting like pinpricks in his eyes. He grunted and sat up, the surprise clear in his voice. "Willow? But, but you're unable to…"

His words trailed off as he watched Tara stand up slowly over him, her eyes glued on Willow. The red head was in shock, staring at her dead lover.

"How?" Willow asked softly. "I didn't ask…"

"I did," Tara replied quickly. "I had to use Draco to be a buffer but…" she trailed off and took a great, gasping breath. "Willow—"

They both to each other and once they got close enough, both women reached out and held each other tightly. Both were crying in each other's shoulders and running hands up and down arms, as if not believing they were here.

"I'm so proud of you, sweetie. Look how much you've grown," Tara said, finally pulling back and running her hands over Willow's face.

"I'd give it all up to have you back with me."

Tara just smiled. "You've offered up your life and your magic once. It's enough."

"Bloody hell, you did it!"

Draco almost got whiplash from turning his head around so quickly. "Sirius? What the hell are i_you/i_ doing here?"

Tara and Willow were looking at Sirius, but it was Tara who figured it out first. "Sirius, no. It's hurting Draco too much as it is."

With her words, he looked up at Sirius in panic. "I swear I'll bring you back just to kill you if you even think—"

His words were cut off as he felt pain akin to the Cruciatus seize his body. Sirius was using him as a buffer the same way Tara was, and it was just about to kill him. He was not supposed to be a shock absorber for spirits. If anything, it was Pansy's job.

Willow rushed over and put her hand on Draco's head. Reaching inward, he accessed the small pinpoint of Osiris' pathway and chuckled nervously. i_I bet you're tired of having to use me to keep Draco alive. Is he like a cat? Does he have nine lives?/i_

Amusement washed over her as she felt the magic Sirius was trying access flow through her instead of Draco.

"Sirius, I swear to Salazar and every other founder that I'll kill you!" Draco shouted once he caught his breath, but Sirius wasn't listening or even paying attention to him. He was looking past Tara, where his disgruntled and sleepy godson was blinking at him in shock.

"Sirius, what are you doing?" Tara whispered as she walked over to Draco and Willow. Willow immediately grabbed Tara's hand and squeezed tightly, and the residual power made her skin tingle.

Everyone was silent as Sirius and Harry just stared at each other.

"I thought it wasn't possible?" Harry whispered. "I thought I couldn't see you because of my mind?"

"It's not," Draco said sharply. "You're taking a huge risk, Sirius, and you nearly killed me. What is it with my relatives wanting to kill me? Is Father going to pop out of the woodwork and strangle me next?"

"Let them have their moment, Draco. They both deserve it. You know how antsy Sirius has been since I last visited."

Willow glanced between Draco and Tara in suspicion. "Wait, last visit?"

Draco sighed. "That's what I was going to tell you, Willow, when we were going to the park. When spirits build up enough power and can walk the dream plane, they can visit us. Because of your broken aura, it wasn't possible for her to visit you, and because of Harry's permanently distorted essence, spirits are more likely to get lost in his mind."

He glared at Sirius. "But since he used me as a means to communicate, he's able to stay grounded, or as grounded as a dead spirit can be."

"I don't know what I did, but I think I'm the means to communicate now. Because of my nifty alliance with Osiris, I can tap into his power, which I've only done to save Draco's life, and I think you're a cat now."

Draco rolled his eyes at Willow's rambling and sat up. He was tired of being put on the ground. "Speaking of your last visit, why the hell were you so cryptic? 'You might receive another visit from a Black relative'? What the buggering hell is that shit? Why not say 'oh by the way, your crazy aunt Bella is going to come kill you'?"

Both Tara and Willow laughed lightly at Draco's sour face.

"You know the Powers would have stopped me as soon as I tried to be detailed. I attempted to give you as much as I could."

Draco glowered a bit but looked between Harry and Sirius, who were whispering to each other, and Willow and Tara, who were now ignoring Draco and smiling at each other. He wasn't needed here, and felt like he was invading a private moment.

"I hate to interrupt your staring contest," he said dryly to Willow, "but can you handle keeping Tara and Sirius here? I need my sleep since I was recently dead and magically drained by a Dementor."

Willow smiled at Draco and nodded. "I can. Not for long, but long enough. Thank you, Draco."

One moment he was in a white nothingness, and the next he was in the bed he shared with Pansy, wide awake. "So much for sleeping again," he muttered. Pansy stirred next to him, but as usual, she didn't wake unless there was someone jumping on top of her screaming.

Wincing as he sat up and threw his feet over the side of the bed, Draco looked over at Harry. A small smile was on his sleeping face, and his features were more relaxed than Draco had seen in a while. He just hoped that Harry could stand the heartache of not being able to visit with Sirius once they left America, because Draco sure as well wasn't going to be a walking ball of pain so dead relatives could visit.

He slowly made his way out of the bedroom and to the hallway. Tea sounded lovely, but the stairs looked rather daunting. "Bugger," he said. Tripping down the stairs would have been a lovely end to the week he was having.

Buffy appeared directly beside, nearly making him fall down the stairs when he jumped. "I'm getting you a bell to wear around your neck."

She just grinned at him. "Promises, promises." Her joking manner left and she stared at him as if she were studying a painting.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

"I thought I had you all figured out, but I don't. Going downstairs? We don't have to whisper there." He nodded, but going down the stairs still worried him. Draco didn't know if his strength had completely returned.

"I got you," Buffy said simply before grabbed his elbow lightly and starting them down the stairs.

Even though her grip wasn't brutal, he still knew if he fell, she'd catch him. The thought made Draco roll his eyes. He was turning into a big girl. And not just any girl, a big i_Hufflepuff/i_ girl.

They made their way into the kitchen. Draco sat at the island and before he could tell her what he wanted, Buffy was grabbing a tea cup from the cabinets and pulling out the special tea Pansy brought for Draco when she arrived. They were both silent as Buffy filled up the tea pot and waited for the water to boil. Once she was finished with her task, she turned to Draco.

"So, you saved my life. Again. That's got to be irritating by now."

Draco's eyebrow rose. "It's not nearly as irritating as having to be led around like a lost puppy because everyone seems to be out for my blood."

Buffy just grinned. "You and I seem to be even. We've both died twice and come back from it."

"Even in death. How poetic," Draco snorted. "And if you're done with your pathetic attempts to segue into a possibly sensitive subject, can we carry on?"

"You killed two men for me. You didn't attack them when they had Willow. It was only when I was there that you… did whatever you did. It was brutal."

Draco stared back at her unflinchingly. "In school, we had a class called Defense Against the Dark Arts. I learned early on that both sides used the same spells, but it was the intent that set them apart. If I didn't kill them, they would have killed us. Besides, both men were murderers and wanted by the Ministry. I just did them a favor."

"They were human."

"They were monsters," he insisted. "They had souls which were tainted with evil. Did you forget I used to be in a league with them? I know all of their dirty, little secrets. I saw what nasty things they did and that they reveled in. Better they die by my hand than continue any moment longer."

Buffy nodded. "I know, but it was still a shock." There was a pause. "What did you do to them?"

Draco sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I hit Rabastan with a curse that split his front open. He bled out. Not a pretty curse and it certainly doesn't tickle. I broke Dolohov's legs and shattered his kneecaps. He died from internal bleeding."

"It's all about the blood with you, isn't it?" Buffy asked quizzically. "Harry told me it was your specialty, and that your father is obsessed with the concept too."

"Obsessed is one way to look at it," Draco chuckled. "But my choice in curses had nothing to do with the fact that spilling their blood would lead to their deaths. Those were the first that came to mind."

"So you know a lot of those curses, huh?"

Draco smirked at her, but she didn't look away like he expected her to. This was not an interrogation like he originally assumed he would be put under. Buffy honestly wanted to know his thoughts and the reasoning behind his actions. "I do."

"And you knew what the one headed for Dawn would do," she stated.

There was the statement he was looking for. "This isn't about what I did for you. It's about what I did for your sister."

"What person gives their life up for the kid sister of a person you've only know for a month?"

The way the question was worded stumped Draco, but he was sure in his convictions. "That curse was the death curse. The only person to survive it was Harry, and that's because his mother gave up her life and the love of his mother defied death and turned the curse back on Voldemort. If Bellatrix had successfully cast it on Dawn, my only thought was that it could release the energy of the Key. That in the hands of Death Eaters is a truly terrifying concept. I couldn't let that happen."

He was quiet and the kettle began to whistle. Buffy stared at him for a few moments before turning around to take it off the stove.

"Besides," he said, stopping Buffy in her movement, "You gave up your life for her once and were ripped out of heaven twice to protect her. The least I could have done was make sure you didn't make that sacrifice in vain."

Buffy finished her actions and poured Draco a cup of tea, leaving it to steep.

"So it was entirely selfless?"

He wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or be insulted. "Are you insinuating I leapt in front of that curse because I wanted to die?" Draco blinked as Buffy looked down guiltily. His attitude turned towards insulted. "If I had a damn death wish, I wouldn't have given my aunt the satisfaction of finally killing me."

Before Buffy could say anything, he stood up shakily and started to leave the kitchen. "Your tea isn't done. Aren't you going to drink it?"

His gaze was icy cold as Draco turned his head to look at her. "I don't want it anymore," he said slowly, aware of how Buffy flinched away from him.

"I'm sorry. It's just when Willow brought you back, you seemed so angry. I didn't know."

"I was angry because she allowed herself to be manipulated by an evil and psychotic witch and then offered to be a magical gateway between here and the land of the dead, and then was willing to give up her magic to save my life, which would have eventually killed her."

Even in his extreme anger, Draco walked proudly over to Buffy. "I didn't work on her, pushing her, and forcing her to heal herself for a month, go to heaven for i_you/i_, and jump through every bloody hoop I could have for her to toss it all away."

He threw his hands in the air. "What is with you lot? You're more self-sacrificing than Gryffindors! It's sickening! Look out for yourself for once!"

Just as Draco was stalking off, he heard a small chuckle behind him. "So says the man who gave up time to come to America, heal a witch, go to heaven and back with a Slayer, and give his life for said Slayer's little sister." Buffy walked over to him, despite Draco's back still being turned away from her. "I don't think hypocritical covers it."

Draco turned with a weary sigh.

"I'm just so very tired of people questioning my every move. And more importantly than that, I'm ready to stop dying."

"I know," she replied, taking his hand and leading him back to the island. "Drink your tea then go back upstairs."

Grumbling that he wasn't a little child, he drank the tea and relished in the burn that it created in his throat and stomach. A little pain that he could control was good for his ego. After glancing at the clock and seeing the early morning time, Draco raised his eyebrow as he started Buffy.

"And what are you doing up at two in the morning, Miss 'wake me before noon and die'?"

She shrugged. "Willow was having a dream and was talking in her sleep. She was talking to Tara, and it sounded a little too personal for me to feel comfortable listening to. She needed that moment with her."

"You knew she was actually talking to Tara?" Draco asked, taking another sip of tea.

"Not until I saw you coming out of your room. She mentioned Sirius, and I knew that something was going on."

Draco nodded. He finished his tea in silence and Buffy started absentmindedly cleaning the counters. When he was finished, she took the tea cup and put it in the sink, methodically wiping it out. He was not prepared for her question.

"Do you think I could see mom?"

Of all the questions she could ask, that was the one he hoped she never would have thought of. "No," he said sadly. "Tara has walked the spiritual plane before, and Sirius' death was… complicated, magically, that is. Your mother's death wasn't magical and she didn't have magical blood in her body. You'll be able to see her again, though."

Buffy turned and gave Draco a smile. "I know, and thanks for being honest. I just wanted to ask."

"Understandable."

Draco stood and was about to go upstairs when Buffy stopped him. "What will happen to your Aunt? She got away, and thanks to that stupid dead circle, or whatever, I couldn't get to her."

"Well, she's in England plotting. Now that she knows Willow can do a resurrection successfully, she's probably making plans to gather the remaining Death Eaters, grow the ranks in numbers, and plan a resurrection for Voldemort."

He could see Buffy was clearly worried about that concept, so Draco grinned and reassured her.

"But don't worry. Once mother and Aunt Andi finds out that she killed me, I daresay I will be down one relative. We Blacks are very possessive."

"And insane," said a voice from the hallway. Both Draco and Buffy looked at Harry as he yawned and stretched. When he was finished, he grinned at Draco. "Blacks are most definitely insane."

"Of course we are. We also like to kill each other. Aunt Bella has two down. She's gotten quite the collection."

Harry laughed. "I think your mother's will be growing soon. Tonks might even go after her."

"She'd trip before she got a curse out." Buffy and Harry laughed at Draco's dry statement. "Forgive me for wishing Tonks did not go on a revenge spree on my behalf."

Draco started to walk past Harry and was intent on going back to bed now that Harry was awake, but he was stopped by yet another question.

"What happens now, Draco?"

"Potter, I don't know." Harry knew Draco was truly irritated and very put out with him. He only reverted back to school habits when he was cranky. "It is early morning, I just had not one, but two spirits channel inordinate amounts of energy through my already injured magical core. A Dementor nearly made my magic bleed out of my pores and my lunatic aunt killed me. I'd like one night of sleep before I think of what the bloody hell I'm going to do next. Is that a possibility, oh my majesty of majesties?"

Buffy bit her lip in amusement as she and Harry shared a glace. Draco rolled his eyes and didn't wait for a response but continued towards the stairs.

"He forgot to curtsy."

"i_Potter!/i_"


	20. Chapter 20

Author's note: This is it. The end. The place I never thought I would ever be when it came to this story. After three years, it is finished. It's bittersweet, because I've never put so much effort into a story and slaved over a fic as much as I did for this one, but I'm also glad it's over.

You also finally discover the reasoning behind the title. It comes from the song I Am For You by Waking Ashland, and the lyrics are very appropriate here.

There is a sequel, but other writing commitments mean it will not be started for a while. That doesn't mean I won't be writing. I have a fanfiction livejournal that will get regular updates with other fics, and I continually issue challenges there that are open to anyone.

Thank you to everyone who has read this from the beginning, who has offered their critiques and kind words. Thanks for keeping an open mind to the elements of the story and believing in me as a writer to take you on a journey of my semi-own creation.

Last, but never least, to my beta and best friend, Jacy Evans. Without her, this story would not exist, because I would have given up on it. This is dedicated wholly to you, for never giving up on me through title changes, plot changes, and *grumbles* pairing changes. *loves*

And to those of you who were severely disappointed that the only Draco/Buffy smoochies were part of a dream sequence… enjoy. *smiles*

…………………………………

Willow and Draco were sitting on the grass with their legs crossed and eyes closed. It had taken them both a week to recover from overworking their magic, and even now spells went a little haywire. Willow taught Draco the forgiving magic of baking cookies, which while they came out edible, Buffy had thrown a fit when she saw the state of the kitchen after Draco tried to magically clean up.

"Ha!" Willow exclaimed, opening her eyes with a cheeky grin. "I got mine done first."

Draco opened his eyes irritably. "This isn't a contest, Willow."

"I still won."

"Oh shut up."

Willow did as she was told and drifted with her magic as Draco worked on energizing his magical core. He was much more irritable now that his magic didn't work exactly the way he wanted to, but he insisted after a few hours with the coven, he'd be fine. The Dementor had affected his dark magic too much and thrown his balance off. Having multiple grounded witches stabilize him would help.

Unfortunately, he had to stay and watch after Willow and her newly expanded magic before he could return to England. He helped her learn to control her new power and eventually make it lie dormant inside her. Channeling Osiris' power would eventually kill if she used too much, and Osiris knew that. It was a test. If she kept using his power instead of asking her own to help, she would be magic-less in a blink and dead in the next.

She was determined to never use it unless there was a dire emergency, but had needed someone to pull her back when she got too close. Now she was used to closing off the channel, and she hadn't even opened it in a few days. Willow no longer felt overwhelmed and was ready to go about her day to day living.

Visiting with Tara had helped as well. Seeing her dead lover brought pain, but it also brought peace. She'd got to say goodbye and hear words of encouragement from a voice she'd never hear. But most of all, she felt okay with moving on in her life without Tara.

i

_Tara cupped Willow's face in her hands. "You have done so well, and I am so proud of you."_

"_How can you say that?" Willow asked, slightly horrified. She'd killed a man and nearly destroyed the world. Proud and doing well was not how she'd describe it. _

"_Because you've overcome something very few people every take on. That's why I'm proud. It's the whole reason I'm here, Willow. I am for you. I b__**am/b**__ for you. I chose to stay, watch, and lead you and those around you because it's what I am meant to do. And you've exceeded everyone's expectations."_

_Tears fell from Willow's eyes and she held onto Tara as tight as she could. "I don't think I'll ever love anyone like I loved you. You're my world."_

"_I'm not in your world anymore, and now that I know you're okay, I'll move to help others. I've always been created to be a guide, and as selfish as I want to be, I can't lead you anymore. You're so strong."_

_Willow gripped Tara's hands and shook her head. "No, I'm not. I need you, Tara."_

"_I told you, Willow. I am for you. You were cold and distant, but you broke free and you can do whatever you want now. If you ever truly need me, I'll send myself to you and my love to you, but I think you'll do just fine."_

_With a sob, Willow tried to hold onto Tara but she was backing away too quickly. _

"_Remember, I am for you, and I love you. I love you so much, Willow."/i _

"There," Draco said with an irritated sigh. He was ready to get to England and have his magic fixed, Willow could tell. She just smiled, blinking out of her memory, which irritated him even more.

"Come on, you have to say goodbye to everyone."

Draco just rolled his eyes and Willow jumped up. He let himself be pulled to his feet and followed after her into the house. This was something he had not been looking forward to.

…………………………….

Buffy stood in the open doorway to the living room, her arms crossed against her chest. Today was the day that Pansy, Harry and Draco were leaving to go back to England. Giles would also return to England a week later. The thought of the house being close to empty was a bit daunting; she had grown used to the noise. She grinned when she looked up and saw Harry walking down the stairs.

"Hey, Pansy is just finishing up the packing upstairs and Draco's still outside with Willow," he said as he reached the bottom. One hand lingered on the banister, and Harry rubbed the wood with a small smile. "Pansy's just as reluctant to leave. It's been a nice holiday for us. I've never been to the States before."

"You consider this a holiday?" Buffy asked, amused. "Getting killed, hexed, and all that good stuff? I've been doing it wrong, then."

They stood staring at each other for a bit before Buffy moved forward and gave Harry a hug. The kinship they developed before Buffy returned to heaven never dwindled. "I hope everything works out for you, Harry. Thank you for all your help."

He returned the hug. "The same for you Buffy."

She pulled back when she heard someone coming down the stairs—Pansy. Despite the two of them getting on as well as oil and water, Buffy had seen how Draco's death had affected her. Sure, the woman was calm and collected on the outside, but losing Draco was something Buffy could see would shatter Pansy on the inside.

"Even with magic, it still takes you stupidly long to pack," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

Pansy just smirked at him as Harry passed her to go to the kitchen where Xander, Giles, and Dawn were. When Buffy moved to follow him, Pansy stopped her by putting a hand on her arm. After eying her a bit wearily, Buffy remained behind, her arms crossed. There was a possibility of this turning ugly, and the last thing she wanted was to have her new friends leave on a bad note.

"Do you need something?" she asked, trying to remain civil.

Pansy's normally icy demeanor towards her melted a bit. "Whether I like it or not, you and Draco have something. A chemistry. Normally it doesn't bother me because I know that it won't last, but you're not the typical type of woman that he goes after."

The last thing Buffy had expected was a lecture on staying away from Draco. "Look, Pansy, I know you two have a history."

"It's more than that," the witch interrupted. "We were destined to be together, and Fate decided to be a bitch and make sure we couldn't be. We're too alike. And all the other females are like me as well. They accept Draco and know that I'm in his life and always will be. They're willing to wait for him. Are you?"

Buffy paused and looked at the floor. She had been thinking of nothing else since Draco had announced they were leaving the week before. "No, I won't." Raising her head, she stared deep into Pansy's eyes. "I'm not going to wait on him and I won't be just another woman in his life. We're not a couple now and I don't think we will be. I'm not going to waste my life waiting for something I'm not guaranteed to have. We say we'll visit, but more than likely, we don't. He has his life, and I have mine. Would I like for him to be a part of mine or me be a part of his? Yes, but I can't wait for it. We lead two different lives. My life is too short for that."

The last thing Buffy expected Pansy to do was smile. It wasn't a gloating smile, but one of admiration.

"Then you have a chance after all."

"Pansy!" Both women turned to where Harry was leaning around the doorway. He was looking between them as if he expected them to pounce on each other at any given moment. "Are you going to say goodbye or not?"

"Not all of us are touchy-feely Gryffindors, Potter," Draco said with a smirk as he brushed past him from the kitchen. With his hands in his pockets, he stood next to Pansy.

Pansy rolled her eyes and headed towards the kitchen. "And some of us know when to collect good contacts." Harry smirked and followed her back into the kitchen leaving Draco alone with Buffy. She was still confused about what Pansy meant.

Since their late night conversation over tea, the relationship between Draco and Buffy was back to amicable with a few lingering stares. Buffy would always be eternally grateful for what Draco had done for not only her, but for Dawn as well. After hearing Buffy say thank you a million times, he finally threatened to make her hair fall out if she muttered it in his direction again.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," he said with a small grin.

Buffy's eyebrow rose. "You couldn't have heard the conversation. How did you do it?" When Draco held up his wand, she rolled her eyes. He was always too nosy for his own good. This conversation would probably be even more awkward than the last. "I should have known. So what about it?"

Draco put away his wand and took a deep breath. "I know why she asked you what she did. And she was telling the truth that every woman I've ever been with promised to wait around and would always accept me. A few years ago I told Pansy that I was tired of compliant women."

"Didn't exactly spur you to push them away, did it?" Buffy asked dryly, and for a moment, she thought she saw frustration on Draco's face. "Look, I don't want this to end badly."

"Neither do I," he said. "That's why she always asks everyone if they'd wait. You're the first one who said they wouldn't."

After staring at Draco for a few silent moments, the only noise coming from the faint voices in the kitchen, Buffy blinked. "There are no words to describe the confusion I feel right now except maybe 'huh?'. That makes no sense. You actually want someone who _won't_ wait for you? You've got that backwards."

"I like challenges. I'm a Slytherin. Plus, finding a woman who is independent and doesn't care about fame or money or anything like that? Definitely a bonus."

"What does fame or money have to do with it?" Buffy asked, completely spun around by the conversation. "So because I won't be in your life anymore, you want me? God, are you the needy type who has to be whipped or whatever during sex?"

Draco's eyebrow rose and he smirked. "Why, do you have a cat o' nine tails lying around begging to be used?" When Buffy just sighed and started to walk towards the kitchen, he grabbed her arm and turned her around. "I like a woman who doesn't give a shit about anything except living life and having fun. Who doesn't care what people say or think and is willing to take risks. You took a risk by telling Pansy you wouldn't wait."

"That's right; I won't," Buffy said sternly. Standing here listening to Draco was just about to kill her. It was just like the scene during her healing when he was trying to convince her to leave her mother again. Only this time, it felt like he was trying to convince her not to leave.

"And I'm telling you don't have to." Draco smiled at her. "But you were right when you said that we'll both promise to visit, but it probably won't happen. We lead two very different and separate lives."

Buffy ripped her arm out of his grasp and slapped his shoulder with a glare. "Do not lead me on about wanting me and then telling me it can't happen. How the hell do you get laid talking like that?"

Draco laughed. "By this."

Buffy didn't have time to react as he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. As the kiss went on, she closed her eyes as she put her arms around Draco's shoulders. His hands rest on her waist as the kiss deepened. It was only when he pulled back that she opened her eyes and realized that the voices in the kitchen were getting louder. Everyone was coming towards the door.

She stepped back and let her arms fall from his shoulders, looking at him curiously. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I'm selfish, and I couldn't leave not knowing what it was like. Plus, maybe that will give one of us the incentive to visit the other."

"You're a bastard," Buffy said with a grin, shaking her head.

"Slytherin," he replied, pointing to himself. "And a Malfoy. They go hand in hand."

Buffy and Draco were joined by the rest of the group and took a small step further apart. Pansy's knowing grin almost made Buffy's eye twitch, but she kept her mouth shut. More tearful goodbyes were said, but Buffy's only focus was on Draco. She saw him smiling and giving out last-minute hugs, but his eyes always came back to hers.

This was the man that gave up his life for her and her sister. As much as she hated to admit it, that was more than Angel, Riley and Spike had done combined. He would always hold a special place in her heart, and more than likely all men would be compared to him from now on.

It didn't help that her mother already approved. And thanks to Draco, she knew that. He'd given her a closure she hadn't known she needed.

Only when Willow nudged her did she snap out of it and say her goodbye to Harry and Pansy.

"Be safe, and owl or whatever it is you magical types do," Willow said with a smile. Buffy put her arm around her and Dawn came up on her other side. Xander and Giles stood behind them.

Draco, Pansy and Harry stepped into the living room and stood by the fireplace. Pansy grabbed the floo powder and disappeared in the green flames first. Harry looked back with a grin as he followed. Draco completely spun around and looked at the crowd gathered.

"Think you'll visit?" Dawn asked, her wide eyes hopeful. Buffy listened closely, interested in his answer.

The blonde smirked. "I'm not sure. If I'm properly motivated enough I might."

"Oh don't be so needy," Buffy said with her own smirk. Watching him on the verge of leaving spurned her to speak up. "You have no idea what I have in my arsenal."

"You'll have to show me sometime," Draco retorted as he grabbed up some floo powder.

"Is that a good enough incentive?"

Draco's reply to Buffy's question was to grin at her over his shoulder and toss the floo powder into the fireplace. When the green flames calmed down to embers and he was only a shadow in her memory, she let out a breath of air. Everyone was silent, and the weight of the knowledge she would never see Draco again nearly crushed her. Everything would be okay though.

She hugged Dawn and Willow and turned around, putting her back to the fireplace.

"Well, what's next?"

THE END


End file.
